13-year-old Ooty schoolgirl who consumed nutrient tablets in a bet dies
The Hindu
The headmaster of the Urdu Middle School run by the Udhagamandalam Municipality at Kandal and a teacher, who was in-charge of supervising the distribution of supplement pills were placed under suspension.
One of the four students from a school in the Nilgiris, who developed health complications after consuming nutrient tablets in an alleged bet among students on Monday, died at the Government Mohan Kumaramangalam Medical College, Salem, on Thursday, March 9, 2023.
The deceased has been identified as Zaibha Fathima, 13, a Class VIII student of the Urdu Middle School run by the Udhagamandalam Municipality at Kandal. The girl was admitted to the Salem hospital after her condition deteriorated while being shifted to the Stanley Medical College, Chennai.
Fathima and three of her classmates, all girls, were admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) on Monday, after being referred from the Government Hospital, Udhagamandalam.
Health Department officials said the four girl students and two others fainted in the school after they consumed too many pills which were distributed under the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme.
The girls were admitted to the intensive care unit at CMCH. An official from the hospital said Fathima developed liver failure, following which it was decided to shift her to the Stanley Medical College.
An ambulance carrying the girl left CMCH around 3.30 p.m. on Thursday. As the vehicle reached near Salem around 4.30 p.m., the girl developed high fever and breathlessness, following which she was admitted to the medical college there.