Three children have died from suspected food poisoning at an orphanage run by a Christian church in Andhra Pradesh’s Anakapalli district.

The orphanage houses 86 children, out of whom 27 suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea on Sunday morning. Out of those witnessing the symptoms of what authorities suspect might be food poisoning, seven children were taken to the hospital.

All seven were discharged and of them, three students from Koyyuru Mandal died after going back to their village.

Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh in a statement identified the children who died as Joshua, Bhavani and Shraddha. He said they ate contaminated food.

“I spoke to my colleague, Health Minister Satyakumar, District Collector of Anakapalli and Alluri Seetharamaraju about this incident. The authorities have been directed to provide better treatment to 17 students who are being treated at Anakapalli Area Hospital. The government stands by the families of the deceased students. I request the authorities to act vigilantly so that such incidents do not take place in the future,” he said.

An investigation is underway under the supervision of the deputy education officer.