Helsinki - Four people have been admitted to hospital after eating poisonous mushrooms over the weekend, news reports said Wednesday.

Three of them were in intensive care at a hospital in Helsinki and one might need a liver transplant, public broadcaster YLE reported.

The cases marked a significant increase of mushroom poisoning since on average only a couple of cases are reported each year.

Mushroom picking is a popular pastime in the Nordic country.

On Sunday the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper published a correction after it the day before printed a photo of a poisonous mushroom to illustrate an article on mushroom picking. (dpa)