Now in Khost, 21 schoolgirls fall unconscious

KHOST CITY (Pajhwok): At least 21 schoolgirls fell unconscious and were rushed to hospital in southeaste Khost province on Tuesday, officials said.

The girls were enrolled at Zarghona Ana School in Kajira village of Matoon locality in Khost City, the provincial capital.

Education director Eng. Bakht Noor Bakhtyar, who visited the Khost civil hospital where the pupils had been taken, told Pajhwok Afghan News the girls were in stable condition.

He said an investigation had been launched into the incident but it remained unknown how the girls were poisoned.   

Khost public health department official Dr. Gul Ahmad said they examined the girls but found no reason behind the poisoning.

He said the medical examination was underway. “We were told the girls had been poisoned with a toxic gas but we haven’t yet found any evidence that supports the claim.”

He said apparently the incident was unintentional and resulted from a natural gas leak.

The girls, aged 10 and 18 years, studied in class seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth.

Also on Tuesday, nearly 200 schoolgirls were poisoned in Zaranj, the capital of southweste Nimroz province.

sns/ma