CNN —Nearly 80 primary school students, mostly girls, are suspected to have been poisoned over the weekend and taken to hospital in Afghanistan’s Sangcharak district, Mohammad Rahmani, the head of Education Department in the northern Sar-e-Pul province, told CNN.
“After reaching school in the morning, the students suddenly started feeling dizzy, headache, and nausea,” Rahmani said.
A doctor at Sar-i-Pul hospital confirmed to CNN that some of the girls were admitted to hospital and he believes they were poisoned based on their symptoms.
Following international pressure, the Taliban kept primary schools open for girls until around the age of 12, Reuters reported.
In 2012, more than 170 women and girls were hospitalized after drinking apparently poisoned well water at a school.
Persons:
Mohammad Rahmani, Rahmani, ” Rahmani, schoolgirls
Organizations:
CNN, Education Department, Reuters
Locations:
Afghanistan’s Sangcharak, Pul, Afghanistan