Death toll rises to six in Karachi due to food poisoning incident

Karachi: Beena Badruddin, aged 28, lost the struggle for her life at a city hospital after experiencing severe food poisoning. Beena was the aunt of the five children who died due to the exact same cause on February 22^nd, 2019 after having food at the Naubahar Restaurant in Karachi's Saddar area. The children's mother, however, survived owing to timely treatment at the Aga Khan Hospital Karachi.

The health of these five children and their aunt deteriorated after they ate at the restaurant. The police confirmed the probable cause of death to be food poisoning.

The police official stated that the cause of the children’s death seems to be food poisoning, according to initial investigation into the incident. Further investigation is underway, the official added. The SP claimed that the family hailed from the Quetta district of Baluchistan.

The children were identified as one-and-a-half-year-old, Abdul Ali, four-year-old, Aziz Faisal, six-year-old, Aliya, seven-year-old, Tauheed, and nine-year-old, Salwa.

A report stated that the family had also consumed food at an eatery in Balochistan's Khuzdar area before arriving in Karachi. The police seized the restaurant in Karachi and got some samples of the food served there and also detained 15 employees of the restaurant. Further investigation is still underway according to the police.

The father of the victims and Beena’s brother, Faisal, had arrived in Karachi from Quetta with his wife Nida, their five children, and sister.

This incident is not the first reported case of food poisoning that has claimed lives. In November 2018, two brothers died due to food poisoning after consuming food at a restaurant in DHA Phase V followed by sweets from a nearby shop.