At least nine people have died, most of them minors, and nearly a hundred have been poisoned after eating beef. sea ​​turtle in the Zanzibar region, in northwestern Tanzania, where this type of food is considered a delicacy but can cause poisoning.

According to local authorities, the incident occurred at the beginning of last week. All of the deceased were under the age of ten, except for one adult.the mother of one of the dead children, reports the Tanzanian news daily ‘Mwananchi’.

Although the number of poisoned people has been increasing, These are in a more stable situation and in many cases have been able to return to their homes.. However, the majority of patients who arrive at the hospital in a more serious condition are those who were discharged a few days after becoming poisoned.

“The patients who come are the ones we send home, they say they have a sore throat, they receive treatment and return home,” said the head of the ChakeChake regional district, Abdullah Rashid Ali. The authorities State authorities have launched an investigation to clarify what happened.

Already in November 2021, the authorities of the island of Pemba confirmed that At least seven people had died and another 24 were poisoned by eating turtle meat, a common habit in the Zanzibar archipelago area..