Two-year-old dies, siblings hospitalised after stomach ache

Police in Mpumalanga have opened an inquest case after a two-year-old boy died after experiencing stomach pain on Wednesday in Violetbank, near Bushbuckridge.

Bushbuckridge officers responded to a call regarding siblings — aged two, three, four and five — who were experiencing a stomach ache.

Medical personnel declared the two-year-old dead after attending the scene.

Police investigators in collaboration with health experts and other role players are probing allegations regarding food consumed by the children before they fell ill.

Police spokesperson Col Donald Mdhluli said the boy's siblings were taken to a nearby hospital.

“Two of the children were discharged, while the fourth one remains in the care of the hospital,” he said.

Acting Mpumalanga police commissioner Maj-Gen Zeph Mkhwanazi appealed to the public to allow investigators the space to do their work.

“We have established a team of experts that are working with our partners in government and they have already begun probing,” said Mkhwanazi.

We also extend our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of the deceased child and wishes for a swift recovery of the other affected children.”

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