The students, who fell ill after consuming the unknown fruit, at the district hospital. (Nantu Dey)

Raiganj, July 10: Forty students of a Sishu Shiksha Kendra in Itahar block fell ill today after consuming an unknown fruit growing wild near their institution.

The incident took place this afternoon at Keutal in North Dinajpur. All children were admitted to the Itahar block primary health centre. Later, 25 of them were brought to the district hospital here after they had begun vomiting.

Mohammad Siddiqi, a Class III student admitted to the district hospital, said he had eaten the fruit during lunch break.

“We were playing in the field when one of my friends, Rabbani, ran to us and said there were bright red berries growing in a shrubbery nearby. He also said he had tasted one and found it sweet,” said Siddiqi.

The student said as the word spread, most of the boys ran to the shrubbery and were elated at seeing the berries. “We began plucking the fruits and eating them. We had over six each, which were really sweet,” Siddiqi said.

However, soon after classes resumed, the boys started falling ill one after another. “We had first stomach cramps which was very painful. Soon, all of us were writhing in pain,” another boy said. He added that some of the students felt drowsy and vomited.

Gulam Mostafa, the father of a student undergoing treatment in the district hospital, said when he was summoned to the block primary health centre, his son was frothing at the mouth. “It was then that the doctors decided to shift my son and others to the district hospital.

The gram panchayat pradhan of Suron-II, Nibaran Barman, said he had contacted the block development officer as soon as he heard about the incident. “We took all precautions and brought the children to the health centre.”

Child specialist Asit Banerjee, who treated the children, said the fruit probably had chemicals, which caused toxicity. “All students are out of danger and will be released soon.”

Civil defence minister Srikumar Mukherjee said he had instructed the district magistrate to make all arrangements for the children’s treatment.

“I have asked my department to identify the plant on which the berries grew and asked them to uproot them from the compound of all primary schools in the district,” the minister said.