A couple and their two minor daughters died after eating a meal at a family gathering at their home in south Mumbai, police said on Monday. The family had eaten watermelon after dinner, and food poisoning is suspected to be the cause of their death.
Among the deceased were Abdullah (40 years old), his wife Nisreen (35 years old), and his daughters Zainab (13 years old) and Aisha (16 years old).
The couple and their children were first taken to a private hospital after they started suffering from vomiting and dizziness, news agency PTI reported.
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However, their condition worsened, and they were transferred to JJ Hospital, where they passed away on Sunday. Abdullah was the last to die at around 10.30pm on Sunday.
Did the fruit turn deadly?
According to an official, Abdullah and Nasreen organized a small meeting on April 25 (Saturday) at their residence in JJ Marg. The family, along with five other guests, had chicken pilaf (“pulao/pulav”) as a main course for dinner.
After the guests left, the four ate watermelon, and after a short time they began to feel vomiting and dizzy, according to the agency, quoting the official. The official also stated that the case at first glance looked like food poisoning due to watermelon, since those who only ate the pilaf did not face any health concerns.
While the four bodies were autopsied, the pathology report is awaited to confirm the cause.
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The official added that a case of accidental death has been registered, and further investigation into the incident is underway.
Dr. Ziyad Qureshi, who initially examined the family, told NDTV that the four people were in a very bad condition and appeared to be exhausted.
He said: “They were suffering from severe vomiting and diarrhea. When I rushed them to the hospital, they told me that they had eaten watermelon.”
Meanwhile, the half-eaten piece of watermelon was sent for laboratory examination. “The samples collected from the bodies during the autopsy have been collected for further investigation,” Praveen Munde, deputy commissioner of police, told NDTV.
What do experts say?
According to experts, watermelon can, in rare cases, cause food poisoning and lead to health complications. The high water and natural sugar content in the fruit makes it an environment where bacteria can multiply rapidly if contamination occurs, NDTV reported, citing a nutrition consultant.
Apart from this, there have been reports of injecting the fruit with glucose water or sugar water to increase sweetness or improve its appearance.
