Berhampur, Aug. 3: Twenty-three persons, including 21 women and children, belonging to seven families of Purunabandha village under Palibandha panchayat in Ganjam block were taken ill after consuming mushroom last night.

They were treated at Ganjam Community Health Centre and Chatrapur Sub-division Hospital and discharged today. The victims had consumed mushroom cooked with dried mango for dinner and were admitted to the hospital after they developed symptoms of vomiting and uneasiness at around 10pm.

“These families had collected the mushrooms from the casuarina forest near the Rushikulya beach yesterday morning. The family members had earlier consumed the mushrooms several times. But we did not know what went wrong,” said Rabindra Kumar Sahu, a villager who volunteered to take these persons to the hospital.

Though so many persons were taken ill after consuming the mushroom yesterday, many villagers collected the mushrooms from the same spot today, a local resident said.