In a shocking development, two members of a family died and three others were admitted to a referral hospital in Deodar in Banaskantha district on Monday.

Police said the deceased were identified as Vina Thakur (8) and Niku Thakur (6).

The sick, Manju (22), Rukhi (16) and Kali (15) were admitted to the Community Health Centre (CHC) where they were stated to be out of danger.

All these five are siblings belonging to a rural laborer family.

Though the food samples have been sent for investigation, the police authorities believe a case of food poisoning to be the cause of the deaths.

According to the police the five girls had consumed some stale food on Sunday night.

Giving details on this issue, Dr A Garg, Medical Officer (Epidemics) said: “The five girls had consumed the food kept overnight. There was no symptom of food poisoning in the other family members. Something must have fallen into the food. The girls had experienced uneasiness on the night itself and by morning they reported diarrhoea and vomiting.”

It should be noted here that food poisoning often occurs from eating old dairy products, undercooked meats, foods left out of the refrigerator too long or salads that were cut long time back.