The mass poisoning in a Chechen village could have been caused by nerve gas, a local physician has said. He did not rule out “terrorist activities”.
The acting chief medical officer of the hospital in the Shelkovskoi region of Chechnya, Vakha Esilayev, was quoted by the RIA-Novosti news agency as saying the bacteriological analysis in the hospital had not confirmed food poisoning as had been earlier stated.
18 children were taken to the hospital in the Shelkovskoi region on Friday suffering from stomach pains.
The doctor added there were “also no circumstantial signs of food poisoning.” He did note, however, that there were signs of toxic poisoning.
“To detect the precise reasons of the poisoning, it is necessary to carry out a toxic analysis. There is no such specialized lab in Chechnya, only the military have it,” Esilayev said.
Local law enforcement structures have instigated criminal proceedings in connection with the poisoning.