257 students hospitalized after school lunch

Following a Thursday lunch at Ischool, with over 900 students signing up for lunch, dozens of them began to show signs of stomachache, vomiting, diarrhea and fever, according to the Khanh Hoa Department of Health.

They were later rushed to multiple hospitals. As of Friday noon, five hospitals have received a total of 149 students. Their health is now stable.

The health department is still updating the data, and no final number of affected students has been made as some of them may not go to the hospital.

A representative of the Khanh Hoa General Hospital said 44 students, aged 6-17, have been hospitalized with signs of food poisoning. Six of them have been discharged, while the rest still stayed at the hospital but their health have been "stabilized" and are being monitored.

A parent of a second grader said her child's class has around 40 students, and about half of them began to show symptoms after lunch.

Pham Huu Binh, principal of the school which consists classes from first to 12th grades, said food samples of the lunch on Thursday have been sent to a medical center for analysis. The lunch consisted of rice, boiled chicken and sauces made from eggs and oil.