At least 110 students of a government middle school in Bihar’s Araria district were hospitalised after a snake was found in their midday meal on Saturday.

All of them are out of danger now.

The incident occurred at an upgraded government middle-cum-high school at Amauna village.

The snake was spotted on a plate from which khichdi was served to the students many of whom had already begun eating. They started vomiting and complained of uneasiness as people started screaming about the presence of the snake in the food. Some of them fell unconscious.

As the news spread, hundreds of parents and villagers gathered at the school. The teachers, with the help of the locals, rushed the students to Forbesganj subdivisional hospital.

“A snake measuring around eight inches was found in the food at the school in the morning. By that time, the food had been distributed to 18 students while 98 others were in the queue. We rushed all of them to the hospital as a precautionary measure. They were kept under observation. All of them are well now,” Araria district magistrate Inayat Khan told The Telegraph.

Khan said a team comprising Forbesganj subdivisional officer and district education officer among others has started a probe and strict action would be taken against those found guilty.

The food was prepared by an NGO called CNDI in its centralised kitchen. It has been engaged to supply meals to government schools.

“A team of officials inspected the centralised kitchen run by CNDI and the cooking process followed there. Action will be taken against it if any lapse is found in the report. We have sent the snake to the forensic science lab to ascertain its variety and whether it was poisonous,” the Araria district magistrate added.