At least 120 pupils from Gobisizwe Agricultural School in Mthatha were rushed to hospitals and a local clinic-- one by helicopter -- after suspected mass food poisoning with one child vomiting blood and others left seriously ill. The incident is the latest in a string of school-related food safety scares in the Eastern Cape since last year.

At least 120 pupils from Gobisizwe Agricultural School in Mthatha were rushed to hospitals and a local clinic-- one by helicopter -- after suspected mass food poisoning with one child vomiting blood and others left seriously ill. The incident is the latest in a string of school-related food safety scares in the Eastern Cape since last year.

By 8pm on Wednesday, 120 pupils, one vomiting blood, had to be evacuated from the Gobisizwe Agricultural School in Ncise, Mthatha, after a mass outbreak of food poisoning.

Health spokesperson Siyanda Manana said the department believed the meal that caused the children to fall ill consisted of meat, samp, beetroot, carrots and beans. Later reports received from emergency medical services indicated that some children had also reported eating rice and tuna. Manana said emergency medical services were called by the school, and children were taken to the Ngangelizwe Community Health Centre, the Mthatha Regional Hospital and the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital in Mthatha.

Manana said that a child who was vomiting blood and urgently needed to be on a drip was taken to hospital by helicopter. According to the emergency report, seven ambulances, three patient transport vehicles, three rescue vehicles and a helicopter...