5 die of eating puffer fish in Sylhet

Five people, including two children, died of eating puffer fish in Jaintapur upazila of Sylhet on Tuesday.

The victims are Abdur Rahim, 60, his sons Suleman Hossain, 25, Lokman, 22, and two children of his neibour, Rahima, 8, and Moni.

Jaintapur police officer-in-charge (OC) Shafiul Kabir said the mother of the two children among ten others also fell sick after eating the fish.

The OC also said the ill people were admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital.

Quoting locals, the police officer said Abdur Rahim caught the puffer fish from a pond near his home. Barely half an hour into eating the fish, his family members and the neighbours fell sick. Rahim died immediately while four others died on their way to hospital.

Physicians at MAG Osmani Medical College and Hospital said ten people have been admitted to the hospital. They are now undergoing treatment.

Jaintapur civil surgeon Md Habibur Rahman told Prothom Alo that puffer fish, which is called Patka in local parlance, is not a typical fish. It is an aquatic animal. This fish has a venomous gland near its ears.