29 children die after eating cassava at Philippine schoolUpdated: 2005-03-10 09:40

Wailing parents carried the bodies of their children from hospitals after a snack of cassava killed 29 and sickened 100 others Wednesday at an elementary school in south-central Philippines.

With the nearest hospital 30 kilometres away from San Jose school, in Bohol island's Mabini town, some victims died while being carried in a variety of vehicles, including three-wheel motorcycle taxis.

Filipino school children lie in the hospital in Ubay town of Bohol, province March 10, 2005. More than 100 people were poisoned after eating during a snack break at school. At least 27 pupils at San Jose Elementary School in Magini, Bohol, Philippines died of likely cyanide poisoning on Wednesday after eating carmelized cassava roots. [Reuters]

Francisca Doliente said her nine-year-old niece, Arve Tamor, was given some of the deep-fried caramelized cassava by a classmate who bought it from a vendor outside the school.

"Her friend is gone. She died," Doliente said. Her niece was being treated, she said.

The roots of the cassava plant, a major crop in the tropical countries, are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. However, cassava is poisonous unless it is peeled and thoroughly cooked. If it is eaten raw or prepared incorrectly, one of its chemical constituents will be attacked by digestive enzymes and give off the deadly poison cyanide. As little as two cassava roots can contain a fatal dose.

29 children die after eating cassava at Philippine schoolUpdated: 2005-03-10 09:40

Wailing parents carried the bodies of their children from hospitals after a snack of cassava killed 29 and sickened 100 others Wednesday at an elementary school in south-central Philippines.

With the nearest hospital 30 kilometres away from San Jose school, in Bohol island's Mabini town, some victims died while being carried in a variety of vehicles, including three-wheel motorcycle taxis.

Filipino school children lie in the hospital in Ubay town of Bohol, province March 10, 2005. More than 100 people were poisoned after eating during a snack break at school. At least 27 pupils at San Jose Elementary School in Magini, Bohol, Philippines died of likely cyanide poisoning on Wednesday after eating carmelized cassava roots. [Reuters]

Francisca Doliente said her nine-year-old niece, Arve Tamor, was given some of the deep-fried caramelized cassava by a classmate who bought it from a vendor outside the school.

"Her friend is gone. She died," Doliente said. Her niece was being treated, she said.

The roots of the cassava plant, a major crop in the tropical countries, are rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. However, cassava is poisonous unless it is peeled and thoroughly cooked. If it is eaten raw or prepared incorrectly, one of its chemical constituents will be attacked by digestive enzymes and give off the deadly poison cyanide. As little as two cassava roots can contain a fatal dose.