“This incident follows the recent tragedy in Naledi, Soweto, where five children tragically lost their lives due to suspected food poisoning, with one child still fighting for his life in hospital,” he said.
One of the teachers told Sowetan that the pupils from the various schools have since been discharged.
When Sowetan arrived at the school at about 3pm, parents were seen fetching their children.
One of the pupils told Sowetan that she ate pap, beef and coleslaw about 5.30pm on Wednesday, and a few hours later she started experiencing stomach cramps.
“I am fine now; I am just tired. I remember we were all running to the toilet and the others were crying. It was a mess,” said the 18-year-old girl.
Another pupil said she too had eaten pap but with chicken and coleslaw.
She said she experienced stomach cramps in the early hours of the morning but her symptoms worsened during the first class at 7am on Thursday.
“I am fine now. It was really bad before we went to hospital but after the drip and medication, I am now fine. But I remember about that time everyone was just running to the toilet, and some were even crying, writhing on the floor,” she said.
Sowetan also spoke to a group of pupils who at the time were heading to the toilet – two of them holding onto their stomachs.
One of them said: “I am still not fine. I still have a runny tummy, and I can only go home tomorrow because my parents live far from here,” she said.
SowetanLIVE
Jeanette Chabalala
www.sowetanlive.co.za
