Chatra (Jharkhand) (PTI): Eight persons belonging to Birhor tribe died of food poisoning while five others fall ill after eating wild roots in Chatra district.

"All of them had consumed some wild roots in the forests near Pratapur on Thursday night," Deputy Commissioner Abu Bakar Siddique said on Saturday, adding that eight of them died during the past 48 hours while five of them were being treated at a local health centre.

Families of the victims, including three children, have been given Rs 10,000 as compensation, he said.