About 80 students from a district council school in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district were hospitalised after eating biscuits provided as part of a nutritional meal program, officials said.

The children experienced nausea and vomiting after consuming the biscuits around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at the school in Keket Jalgaon village, said a local official.

Upon getting to know of this, the village head and other authorities quickly arrived at the school and arranged transportation to a hospital.

The students were taken to a rural hospital, where their condition was described as stable.

Dr Babasaheb Ghughe, a medical officer at the hospital, said, “On Saturday morning, around 8:30 a.m., after consuming biscuits, 257 students reported symptoms of food poisoning. Among them, 153 were brought to the hospital, and some were treated and sent home.”

However, seven students who developed severe symptoms were transferred to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Civil Hospital for further treatment, Ghughe stated.

The school has 296 students.

An investigation into the cause of the food poisoning is underway.