Rat poison may be to blame for a case of food poisoning in China that killed dozens, the official China Dailynewspaper said today.
Just under 100 have died but there was still uncertainty over the exact death toll, it said. Hundreds have also been made sick due to the poisoning, which may have been deliberate.
Residents of Tangshan, a small industrial town in coastal Jiangsu, said many customers at the small Heshengyuan Soy Milk chain store collapsed sick on Saturday after eating its popular breakfast snacks, made at a stall opposite.
Some witnesses said they had seen hundreds of victims being rushed to hospital, some bleeding at the mouth and ears.
The China Dailyquoted doctors treating victims as saying their symptoms were consistent with rat poisoning and are investigating whether it could have been put in the snacks deliberately.