25 People Died at Naming Ceremony After Eating Cake

At least 25 people have died in six days after eating cake which police suspect was mixed with pesticides at a naming ceremony.

 

File photo used only for illustrative purpose

 

About 54 people were sickened after eating the sweets in Punjab, Pakistan.

 

Umar Hayat, 58, hosted the party for friends and family in Karor Lal Esan, in celebration of the birth of his grandson.  However, after eating mini cakes that were purchased from a bakery, many people got sick.  

 

According to police, 10 people died the same day of the party and 15 more have passed away since. Police official Munir Ahmed confirmed that the dead includes the newborn baby's father and seven uncles. 

 

Hayat lost all of his eight sons, some daughters and grandchildren all within 6 days.  

 

“The death toll from the consumption of the sweets has now risen to 25, and 52 people are still being treated at various hospitals,” Ahmed said.  

 

Police arrested three people, the two owners of the bakery, who are brothers, and a worker.  

 

Police said that the pesticide store near the bakery was being renovated, and the owner of that store asked the bakery owners to hold some pesticides in the bakery for safe keeping. 

 

“A worker may have accidentally used a small packet of pesticides in the cake,” police said.

 

The remains of the mini cakes will be sent to a laboratory for testing.  

 

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced that the next of kin of those killed will receive 500,000 Pakistani rupees ($4,772) in aid.