At least 200 students in Cagwait town in the province of Surigao del Sur, Philippines suffered from stomachaches, nausea and dizziness and were rushed to nearby hospitals Friday morning after eating durian candy.
More reports of food poisoning in students came out around the same time in four other towns and one city from the same southern Philippine province. The towns of Lianga, Marihatag, San Agustin and Tago and the city of Tandag had students complaining of food poisoning symptoms from eating the durian sweets, Rappler reported.
An undetermined number of victims have died, according to The Philippine Star. However, Rappler noted that the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office has yet to confirm the casualties.
Cagwait information officer Roger Tabugoc, whose own daughter was a victim, said the town was in chaos as people scrambled to get the children to hospitals.
"They said the hospital and health centers are already full," Tabugoc said, adding that some hospitals already rejected patients because there was no more room.
Tandag City in Surigao Del Sur victimized by Durian Candy poisoning. Praying for all the victims to be well. pic.twitter.com/vPO9wtbviI
— Catt (@iammeowkitten) July 10, 2015
The durian candies were reportedly sold at a very low price by unidentified vendors during snack break. Other reports said that the candies were handed out for free by men roaming the school area, The Philippine Star reported.
The regional Office of Civil Defense said that the candies were already expired, according to GMA News.
Cagwait authorities are investigating possible reasons for the food poisoning incident, which they said is "similar to a terrorist attack." The local government gave out a warning against buying or accepting such food from people they don't know.
Authorities arrested seven out-of-school youths that were reportedly connected to the incident.
Meanwhile, in a city from another Southern Philippine province, 44 grade school students suffered from durian candy food poisoning on the same day and around the same time, GMA News noted in another report.
Kidapawan City Pilot Elementary School in the province of Cotabato reported that some students were rushed to the hospital after displaying food poisoning symptoms, which also started when the students are durian candy.
A grade school student said she bought two packs of durian candies, which contained 20 pieces per pack, because they were very cheap. They were sold by a vendor inside the school.
However, she didn't eat it because it tasted bitter and was very hard. She gave some to her classmates, and they all had stomachaches after some time.
The school administration is conducting an investigation on the vendor who sold the candies inside the school.
Authorities were able to trace the durian candies from the manufacturer based on the information printed on the wrapper, according to GMA News. However, representatives from the manufacturer said they sold the candies by bulk at 100 pieces per pack.
