25 food-poisoned schoolchildren die

At least 25 children died from food poisoning after eating a snack at school in the southern Philippines today.

Another 100 children were admitted to hospitals.

Mabini Bohol Ester Tabigue, vice mayor of the town of Mabini on Bohol island, said other children were seriously sick after eating deep-fried caramelised cassava.

Francisca Doliente, said her niece, nine-year-old Arve Tamor, was given some cassava by a classmate who bought it from a regular vendor. She said the victims first suffered severe stomach pain, then vomiting and diarrhoea. They were taken to at least three hospitals in the area.

“Her friend is gone. She died,” she said.

Cassava is a tropical, starchy staple of South American origin and its fleshy roots contain poisonous compounds that must be removed before the plant is pounded into a type of flour.