Grieving parents prepared for a mass burial yesterday of at least 27 schoolchildren who died after eating cassava -- a root that's poisonous if not prepared properly -- while 103 other people were hospitalized with severe stomach pain and diarrhea.
The victims, mostly aged 7 to 13, purchased the deep-fried caramelized cassava from vendors during snack time at the San Jose school in Mabini on Bohol island.
One of the two vendors also was sickened, and she remained in hospital yesterday while the other was in police custody to protect her from outraged parents, said Philip Fuderanan, the mayor's aide.
PHOTO: AP
Investigators were checking whether the vendors failed to properly cook the cassava, and looking into unconfirmed reports that tainted cooking oil was used to fry the food, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that she was "deeply saddened" and went yesterday to Mabini to console grieving parents and declare an emergency for the province so that it could draw emergency funds to assist victims' families.
"I pray to God that this will never happen again," Arroyo said in a statement. "I want the police to work with the health authorities to give me a detailed report on why and how this unfortunate incident happened."
Wailing parents left hospitals late Wednesday carrying bodies of their children wrapped in blankets, and Mabini Mayor Stephan Rances said a mass burial was planned for yesterday.
Francisca Doliente said her 9-year-old niece was given some of the cassava by her friend, then fell sick and was undergoing treatment.
"Her friend is gone. She died," Doliente told reporters.
The starchy roots of the cassava plant, a major crop in Southeast Asia, are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins A, B and C. However, it is poisonous without proper preparation. Eaten raw, the human digestive system will convert part of it into cyanide. The victims suffered severe stomach pain, then vomiting and diarrhea.
They were taken to at least four hospitals near the school in Mabini, about 610km southeast of Manila. Treatment was delayed because the nearest hospital was 30km away.
"Some said they took only two bites because it tasted bitter and the effects were felt 5-10 minutes later," said Dr. Harold Gallego of Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital in the town of Talibon, where 47 patients were taken.
Dayrit said 27 students were confirmed dead. The vast majority of the 103 people recovering in hospital were schoolchildren, and four of them were in critical condition, hospital workers said. Those who had reached hospitals had a good chance of surviving, doctors said.
Officials of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Health Department were collecting samples of cassava at the site and drawing blood from patients for analysis, provincial health officer Reymoses Cabagnot said.
Grace Vallente said her 7-year-old nephew Noel died en route to the hospital and her 9-year-old niece Roselle was undergoing treatment.
"There are many parents here," she said from L.G. Cotamura Community Hospital in Bohol's Ubay town. "The kids who died are lined up on beds. Everybody's grief-stricken."
IDENTITY: A sex extortion scandal involving Thai monks has deeply shaken public trust in the clergy, with 11 monks implicated in financial misconduct Reverence for the saffron-robed Buddhist monkhood is deeply woven into Thai society, but a sex extortion scandal has besmirched the clergy and left the devout questioning their faith. Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in breach of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts. The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funneled out of their monasteries, funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation. The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern that their status
The United States Federal Communications Commission said on Wednesday it plans to adopt rules to bar companies from connecting undersea submarine communication cables to the US that include Chinese technology or equipment. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement. “We are therefore taking action here to guard our submarine cables against foreign adversary ownership, and access as well as cyber and physical threats.” The United States has for years expressed concerns about China’s role in handling network traffic and the potential for espionage. The U.S. has
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
The US Department of Education on Tuesday said it opened a foreign funding investigation into the University of Michigan (UM) while alleging it found “inaccurate and incomplete disclosures” in a review of the university’s foreign reports, after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the US. As part of the investigation, the department asked the university to share, within 30 days, tax records related to foreign funding, a list of foreign gifts, grants and contracts with any foreign source, and other documents, the department said in a statement and in a letter to
RSS