Mexico mass poisoning: Over 50 school students mysteriously fall ill, third incident in 2 weeks

In the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, as many as 57 students were poisoned by an unidentified substance in a rural secondary school, local authorities said.  Following the event, social media users reported that pupils had tested positive for cocaine at a private laboratory.

However, the parents of the students suspect that their children may have died as they were exposed to contaminated food or water. The condition of one student remains critical and the others are stable. According to local media, this is the third episode of widespread poisoning at Chiapas schools in the last two weeks.

"57 teenage students in the rural community of Bochil had arrived at a local hospital with symptoms of poisoning. One student in a "delicate" condition was transferred to a hospital in the state's capital while the rest were stable," the Mexican Social Security Institute said in a statement.

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Bochil leaders expressed shock over the occurrence, adding that they are cooperating with a state prosecutor's inquiry. 

The event fueled parents' rage, as they gathered at the school's basketball court, demanding explanations from the authorities. According to one man in a Facebook video, his daughter was poisoned and tested positive for cocaine at a private laboratory, along with other classmates.

The state prosecutor's office announced on Saturday that it had undertaken 15 toxicology tests, all of which came back negative for illegal narcotics.  The state prosecutor's office said it would continue testing students but did not respond to questions about the prior poisoning events Since Sept. 23, local media have reported two previous cases of mass poisoning in the city of Tapachula, affecting dozens of students.

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• Chiapas
• Mexico
• Mexico mass poisoning
• mass poisoning
• cocaine