CEBU, PHILIPPINES - 24 out of the 29 students of Concord Technical Institute in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City who were rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) after complaining of abdominal pain, heart palpitation, headache, and vomiting have been confirmed dead, the health facility reports.
They had all just consumed a bottled coffee drink and the remaining five are in critical condition.
Because of the number of students rushed to the emergency room, CCMC declared a code white alert yesterday, which meant that all medical personnel were asked to stand by.
Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO), said that before the incident, the high school students drank promotional samples of Kopiko 78C that were offered to them for free.
Hours after that, students began complaining of abdominal pain, heart palpitation, and headache. Some began vomiting.
CCDRRMO dispatched six ambulances to the school to transport the students to the hospital but the poisonous substance was strong to be overturned by their system, the doctor noted.
Kenneth Siasar, hospital administrator of CCMC, said some of the students vomited at least five times before they died.
Bañacia and the City Health Department went immediately to the school after the incident was reported to the command center and collected samples of the free drink that had been distributed to the students.
SOURCE: http://dw-tv3.com
SOURCE: http://dw-tv3.com
