‘Children die after eating pesticide pancakes’

By , K24 Digital
On Tue, 18 Feb, 2020 10:16 | < 1 min read

Two children in Uganda have died and 11 others have been hospitalised after they ate pancakes made with pesticides instead of cooking oil, according to the Daily Monitor newspaper.

All 13 children are from the same family in Budumba, western Uganda.

The newspaper reports that the children made the pancakes themselves — a dish commonly known in Uganda as Kabalagala.

But the Daily Monitor adds that they used the wrong ingredients - mistaking a pesticide, used to grow watermelons and vegetables, for cooking oil.

The children then started vomiting, the news site reports, and were taken to Busolwe hospital where two of them died and the 11 others are being treated.

It’s alleged that after eating the pancakes, they started vomiting before they were rushed to the hospital for medication.

According to the Daily Monitor, the incident was confirmed by Bukedi Regional Police Commander, Mr Ceasar Tusingwire.

“Thirteen children from the same homestead are suspected to have taken poisonous pancakes. They mixed pesticides with cooking oil accidentally," Mr Tusingwire said.

He said that two children have been confirmed dead and 11 others are admitted to Busolwe hospital.