At least 11 people were killed and more than 100 others fell sick on Friday in a massive case of food poisoning in the outskirts of Hotan in the restive region of Xinjiang, official media reported.
As of Saturday evening, more than 150 villagers from the township of Sangzhu in Pishan county had shown symptoms of vomiting and convulsions after having their dinners on Friday and were sent to local hospitals afterwards, Xinhua said, citing a statement issued by the Communist Party's Hotan City Committee.
The Xinhua report did not give further details of the incident, such as where it happened and what food was consumed. But local officials told the South China Morning Post that the villagers, observing Ramadan, went to a local bazaar after sunset on Friday and ate bean jelly, a cold dish made from bean extract, at more than one restaurant.
Food-poisoning cases of this scale, especially one that turns fatal, are rare. This one occurred a month after an attack on a police station in this Uygur-dominated town left 18 deaths, including 14 alleged knife-wielding and petrol bomb-holding Uygur perpetrators, on July 18.
Liang Jiajun, the deputy head of Hotan's propaganda department, who spoke about the bean jelly poisoning, said yesterday that political motives behind the incident had been ruled out after a preliminary investigation. 'Up to now, no evidence has shown that the poisoning has anything to do with politics or ethnic issues.'
Liang said there were no Han Chinese among the victims.