16 Kerala students on Goa trip fall ill, treated at district hospital

Mapusa/Calangute: A college excursion to Goa turned into a medical emergency for a group of students from Kerala after 16 of them fell ill due to suspected food poisoning at Baga. The students, who were part of a group of 50, were rushed to the North Goa district hospital in Mapusa after their symptoms turned severe.

Police said the students had arrived in Goa on Thursday.Police said the students had arrived in Goa on Thursday and were staying in a hotel in Saligao. On Friday they were visiting Baga, Calangute, for sightseeing and had lunch at a restaurant serving south Indian cuisine.After consuming the food, a large number of the students started feeling nauseous, experiencing cramps and pain in the stomach and began vomiting.The students were discharged after treatment.Police and food and drugs administration (FDA) officials have recorded the statements of the students and said they will conduct further investigations.Medical officials at the district hospital confirmed that the 16 students were admitted to the emergency ward and treated for dehydration and gastrointestinal distress.FDA officials inspected the restaurant where the students had their meal, FDA officer Richard Noronha said.

“We inspected the central kitchen of the restaurant after getting reports that the students had taken ill due to food poisoning,” he said.A few months ago, the FDA had examined the restaurant as part of its routine surveillance drive and issued an improvement notice. Noronha said they have collected samples of food consumed by the students, as well as raw material used in the kitchen. Also statements of doctors who provided treatment will be taken.“There were other groups who consumed food at the same place and time. But no complaints were received from them,” the FDA officer said.