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School meal kills 19 in India's Bihar state. (BBC News)
more at the link aboveAt least 19 children have died and dozens more have fallen sick after eating a tainted school meal in India's eastern state of Bihar.
The poisoning occurred at a government school in the village of Marakh in Saran district.
A probe has been launched and 200,000 rupees ($3,370) in compensation offered to the families of each of the dead.
India's Mid-Day Meal Scheme provides free food to try to boost attendance, but often suffers from poor hygiene.
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A total of 47 students of a primary school in Dharmasati Gandaman village fell sick on Tuesday after eating the free lunch.
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"We suspect it to be poisoning caused by insecticides in vegetable or rice," Amarjeet Sinha, a senior education official, told the BBC.
A doctor treating the children at a hospital in Patna said contaminated vegetable oil could have lead to the poisoning.
Patna-based journalist Amarnath Tewary says villagers told local reporters that similar cases of food poisoning after having Mid Day Meals had taken place in the area previously.
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