Visakhapatnam, Aug 19 : Three children died at an orphanage in Andhra Pradesh's Anakapalli district on Monday due to suspected food poisoning.

As many as 27 inmates were taken ill after eating 'samosas' on Sunday at the orphanage in Kailasa town under Kotauratla Mandal. Three of them died on Monday while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Anakapalli.

The deceased children have been identified as Joshua, a first-grade student, and Bhavani and Shraddha, both in third grade. The remaining 24 are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Narsipatnam and Anakapalli.

Seven of them were admitted to the Narsipatnam Area Hospital while 17 were shifted to the Anakapalle Area Hospital. Sources said the condition of four children were reported to be critical following which they were shifted to the King George Hospital (KGH) in Visakhapatnam for further treatment.

The orphanage is run by an NGO. It has 60 children studying in a local government school.

Anakapalli District Collector K. Vijaya has ordered an investigation into the incident, besides directing the concerned officials to ensure that the affected students get best possible medical treatment.

District Education Officer Appa Rao has taken up the investigation into the incident. The officials suspect that necessary precautions were not taken in the preparation of food, which resulted in the tragedy.

Meanwhile, Minister for Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh has expressed shock over the incident. He also spoke to Health Minister Y. Satya Kumar and the District Collectors of Anakapalli and Alluri Seetharamaraju about the incident.

The Minister posted on X that he was deeply moved by the death of the students after eating contaminated food in the orphanage in Kailasa town.

'The authorities have been ordered to provide better treatment to the students who have been admitted to hospitals. I request the authorities to act vigilantly so that such incidents do not take place in the future,' Lokesh said.

/IANS