JACOBABAD, May 21: At least 40 people, mostly women and children, all residents of the Baloch Colony, fell unconscious when they ate poisonous rice here on Wednesday.

A man gave a bag of rice to a woman, Imamzadi. Later, when the residents of Baloch Colony ate it, at least 40 people fell unconscious.

All were taken to the Civil Hospital, Jacobabad, where the condition of 15 people is said to be critical.

When this correspondent contacted the doctors, they said that the rice was poisonous and it contained some chemicals.

Some of the victims have been identified as Bahram Khan, Dil Murad, Mohammad Murad, Pervez Ahmed, Raj Bibi, Naz Bibi, Mai Rani, Imtiaz, Abdul Ghani, Shahzadi, Babar, Sanober, Hakim, Roshan, Sonia, Abdul Hafiz, Asmatullah, Mahar Ali, Arif Ali and Shaman Ali.

TWO SHOT DEAD: Two unidentified men shot dead a man, Mohammad Sharif, over a land dispute near Miranpur Buriro on Tuesday.

LOCOMOTIVE: A locomotive was burnt when fire broke out in a goods train, which was coming from Quetta, at the Mamul Phatak on Tuesday.

The driver of the goods train jumped out of the train when the fire broke out in the locomotive.

The locomotive was almost totally burnt, while the goods train was partially damaged.

The cause of the fire could not be ascertained till the filing of this report.

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