Two Schoolchildren Die and Five Critical After Ingesting Anti-Malarial Tablets in Andhra Pradesh

Two school students have died and five remain in critical condition after consuming allegedly expired anti-malarial medication distributed at a school in Andhra Pradesh's Etapaka Mandal.

The incident occurred in Gollaguppa village, located within the Visapuram Gram Panchayat, where school staff administered Chloroquine tablets to 73 students. Shortly after ingesting the pills, approximately 20 children experienced severe adverse reactions and fell violently ill with acute complications.

Emergency responders and local authorities quickly evacuated the affected children across the state border to the Area Government Hospital in Bhadrachalam, Telangana, for urgent medical intervention. Despite emergency treatment, two students succumbed to the adverse reaction.

Five students remain in critical condition in the hospital's intensive care unit, while medical staff continue to treat and monitor the remaining hospitalized children. Health officials and administrative authorities have initiated an inquiry into the incident to inspect the distributed medicine stock, verify batch details and expiration dates, and determine how the contaminated or outdated drugs were cleared for administration to schoolchildren.