Jabalpur, May 22 (IANS). A worrying incident has come to light amid the ongoing severe heat wave in Central India. More than 31 National Cadet Corps (NCC) trainees fell seriously ill due to heat stroke and dehydration symptoms, at a training camp organized at the Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing (IIITDM) campus on Dumna Road.
The incident created chaos in the camp premises late on Thursday evening, after which all the affected cadets were immediately taken to the district hospital for treatment.
According to officials, the cadets started complaining of dizziness, vomiting, diarrhea and extreme weakness at 8 pm on Thursday night.
CMHO Dr Naveen Kothari told IANS, “After the incident, children from the NCC camp being run at IIITDM started coming here. So far, 31 children have been brought, including 15 boys and 16 girls. When they were brought to Victoria Hospital, some had stomach ache, some were nervous. Some complained of chest pain, while some showed symptoms of drowsiness and fainting.”
“Initially we have treated him for heatstroke, but our food safety officials will also investigate whether it was a case of food poisoning or heatstroke. We will investigate the food in the camp,” he said.
Dr. Kothari said that almost all the children have recovered. Medical teams at the hospital have confirmed that while most of the cadets are stable and responding to treatment, the condition of three to four cadets still remains critical, with at least seven of them admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
A special team of doctors is keeping a close eye on all the young trainees, and the families of the affected cadets have been informed about their condition.
NCC officials and representatives of the district health department are present at the hospital to coordinate relief efforts.
This training camp started on May 14 and will continue till May 24; More than 450 NCC cadets from Jabalpur and surrounding districts are participating in it.
Initial investigation by the district administration and health officials has stated that the main cause of this mass illness was the scorching heat and physical exertion during the training done under the open sky.
Madhya Pradesh is currently in the grip of extreme heat, where temperatures have been recorded above 47 degrees Celsius in many areas in recent days.
Especially in Jabalpur, the mercury has remained between 44 to 45 degrees Celsius for the last four days, creating dangerous conditions for outdoor activities.
–IANS
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