Scores of students and teachers from Kabud Aab school in Sar-e Pol province needed urgent medical attention after falling suddenly sick at school on Saturday, according to local sources.
Many of the affected students were primary school girls who attend the school, one source told Rukhshana Media on condition of anonymity.
The school, which runs both primary and secondary classes in Sangcharak district’s Abkalaan area, has around 120 male and female students.
“When the students went to class, some of them had convulsions inside their classrooms just after the lessons started,” the source said, adding that as many as 50 students were affected.
Another source said the sick students experienced physical symptoms including convulsions, headaches, fever, tremors, and dyspnea.
Some people have speculated that these symptoms are due to being poisoned by something in the air. However when asked about any motive for poisoning the students, the sources said that is not clear.
“The students have not eaten or drunk something in the classroom,” a father of one of the ill students said. “But when they entered the classroom, they smelled something, something they are not sure about, but it was something different. That smell poisoned them.”
School authorities said some of the sick students have been transferred by ambulance for medical attention. About 20 students were taken to the central health clinic of Sangcharak district, some of them were taken to the central hospital of Sar-e Pol province, and others who were in a serious condition have been transferred to the provincial hospital.
One source said that the Sangcharak district health center faced a shortage of medicine and oxygen to treat the students.
The father of one of the students who was taken to Sar-e Pol provincial hospital told Rukhshana Media that about 12 students were hospitalized there, including his son.
He said his son had recovered and been discharged, but six other students were still in hospital on Monday afternoon.
“The condition of the poisoned students is not constant,” one source said, “Sometimes they are fine, and sometimes their condition gets worse.”
Speculation about a possible poisoning was being linked to the presence of unknown gunmen who were seen in the village the night before. They had introduced themselves to some as Taliban forces, but it was not clear what their purpose was in the village. One source said that those men had told the local people that they had come there for the security of the area.
The day after the incident at Kabud Aab school, school girls at nearby Fair Abad school in Abkalaan fell ill with similar symptoms.
A local source said that of 250 students, 20 of them became sick and had to receive medical attention. They have been transferred to the Abkalaan clinic and on Monday were still waiting for a medical team from the center of Sar-e Pol province to attend.
The source said that the Abkalaan area does not have good internet or telecommunication coverage, which can make getting these matters addressed more complicated. “When we call the local Taliban authorities in Sar-e Pol, they hang up as soon as they hear the name of Abkalaan area,” he said.
Abkalaan is an area that is mostly inhabited by Hazaras, which is located 30 kilometers away from the center of Sangcharak district.
The local Taliban authorities said Sunday that they will be holding a meeting to discuss the two incidents but as yet, “no kind of investigation has been done regarding the case.”
UNICEF Afghanistan responded to the media reports of the possible poisoning by calling on the Taliban to conduct an immediate investigation.
“Schools should be havens of safety where children learn free from fear. Women should be able to work without endangering their lives,” the humanitarian organization tweeted on Monday.
“[UNICEF] counts on the de facto authorities to investigate this incident thoroughly, to do everything possible to keep girls and women safe and, if there is foul play, to hold the perpetrators accountable.”
