After attending a wake in the Ayacucho region of southern Peru, at least eight people have died while more than 20 fell ill.
The authorities are suspecting that the food served at the wake was contaminated. Specialists have led to San José de Ushua district to discover the source of the contamination.
According to local media speculation, the food could have consisted up rat poison or insecticide.
Local hospitals reported that 15 people still have in a serious condition after eating a meat stew presented to them in the wake of a local man.
Regional Health Director John Tinco Bautista said that just within hours, the attendees of the wake began falling ill. The mayor of the town also included in the affected people.
The recent incident comes less than a month after hundreds of Peruvian schoolchildren fell ill. They just eat the breakfasts provided at more than a dozen schools in Cañete province.
Free Meals
The free meals are part of a government program. The government wants to ensure schoolchildren from the poorer backgrounds take adequate nutrition.
In this case, the source of the contamination was a fruit juice that had gone off. The company that delivered the breakfasts will sue.
