Meghalaya: Death toll due to consumption of wild mushrooms rises to 6

The death toll due to the consumption of wild mushrooms at a village near the India- Bangladesh border in Meghalaya rose to six as a 14-year-old girl succumbed at a hospital here, officials said on Tuesday. At least 18 persons of three families at Lamin village in Amlarem civil sub-division of West Jaintia Hills district fell critically ill after consuming wild mushrooms last week.

The three families, who are neighbors, had consumed the wild mushrooms they collected from a nearby forest. The girl, identified as Marriaba Khonglah, died around 11.35 pm at the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) on Monday, said Lamin village headman Golden Gashnga.

Her brother Armstrong (23) had died on Sunday, he said. Both Marriaba and Armstrong are siblings of Katdilia Khonglah (26) who died within a few hours of consuming the poisonous mushrooms.

The other deceased are Synran Khonglah (16), Lapynshai Khonglah (28) and Morison Dhar (40). Katdilias sister Wanrika is still undergoing treatment at the NEIGRIHMS, while seven-year-old Dimah Gashnga, the son of Morison, is in Woodland Hospital in Shillong.

The other ten persons have recovered and discharged from the hospital. Home minister Lahkmen Rymbui, who is also the local MLA, expressed heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families.

PTI JOP SOM SOM.