International   

Fear of mass poisoning of Afghan girls

— Photo: AFP

Some of the schoolgirls lie in a hospital in Charikar on Monday.

CHARIKAR (Afghanistan): Doctors are investigating whether dozens of girls were poisoned at a high school in northern Afghanistan on Monday after 61 girls went to the hospital because of sudden illness, officials said.

Dr. Khalil Farhagga said the 61 students and one teacher from a school in Parwan — a province north of Kabul — complained of irritability, tearing and confusion. Several girls also passed out.

The mass hospitalisation comes about two weeks after a similar incident in Parwan, where dozens of girls were hospitalised in late April after being sickened by what Afghan officials said were strong fumes or a possible poison gas cloud.

Conservative Afghans oppose education for girls, who were not allowed to attend school under the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.

Officials on Monday sent blood samples to Kabul and to the main U.S. base in Bagram to test whether some form of poison was to blame, said Dr. Farhagga, director of Charikar’s hospital.

At least two students interviewed at the hospital by The Associated Press complained of a strong sweet smell, which gave the students headaches and made some girls wobbly before they passed out.

“There was a very strong smell, like flowers in the hallway. I fell down and woke up in the hospital,” said the 18-year-old Zahera, who like many Afghan goes by one name.

Nizamuddin Rahimi, a provincial education official, tried to downplay the incident, suggesting it was a panic attack after the students saw one of their colleagues collapse.

The high school where the incident happened is attended by both girls and boys.

The girls attend class in the morning, at the time when the students became ill. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Afghanistan: phosphorus claim after air strikes
Colombo rejects U.N. claim
Fear of mass poisoning of Afghan girls
CIA, ISI created Taliban: Zardari
Journalist freed in Iran
U.S. astronaut carrying Tricolour
Indian beaten up on train
India, U.K. to assess climate change impact

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu