With the death of five more persons, the toll in the tragic sweetmeat poisoning incident in Pakistan's Punjab province rose to 25, officials said today amid reports that the sweets may have been tainted with pesticides smuggled in from China.
The government sent a 10-member team led by Punjab Food Authority (PFA) director Ayesha Mumtaz to investigate the matter.
At least 25 people died of consuming poisonous sweetmeat including three children and eight of a single family while another 20 or so are still fighting for their lives, officials said.
The sweetmeat was brought from a shop by Sajjad Hussain in Layyah district on Thursday, some 325 kilometers from Lahore, to celebrate the birth of a child.
It was served to eight members of Sajjad's family. Their condition deteriorated soon after eating the sweet. They were rushed to the nearby hospital.
"Sajjad along with his six brothers and a sister died while 12 others who consumed the poisonous sweet also breathed their last yesterday," Executive District Officer Ameer Abdullah said, adding another five patients died today as doctors could not save their lives.
He said the doctors have declared all the admitted patients in district headquarters hospital Layyah critical due to lack of antidote to the pesticide that was mixed with the confection.
Reports says the pesticide may have been smuggled in from China.
District Police Officer Layyah Muhammad Ali Zia said that the shop owner Khalid Mahmoud was arrested.
"Cheep imported liquid glucose is suspected to be used in manufacturing the sweetmeat at the shop instead of sugar (which costs more)," he said.
Meanwhile, Punjab province's Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced ex-gratia of Rs 500,000 to the next of the kin of those died.
