11 sickened in Pennsylvania mushroom 'mass casualty' event

Oct. 13 (UPI) -- Eleven people in central Pennsylvania have been hospitalized, including children, after ingesting toxic mushrooms in what officials are calling a "mass casualty" event.

"Station 57 was alerted to assist multiple EMS units with a mass casualty incident. Units were advised that 11 people had ingested toxic mushrooms and were all ill," a Facebook statement from the Delta-Cardiff Volunteer Fire Company said.

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Six ambulances transported the patients to a local hospital, officials reported.

Rescue crews were called to a home on Burke Road in Peach Bottom Township, located near the Maryland state line, about 55 miles southeast of Harrisburg about 9:30 p.m. Friday night, officials said.

Emergency response units were also dispatched from York, Lancaster and Harford counties. Local media reported that the Pennsylvania State Police also responded.

The victims were members of an Amish family who said they found the mushrooms in the woods and ate them, making them ill, fire officials told local media.

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