Insecticide in meal that killed 23 Indian pupils

Indian relatives mourn the death of a child who died after eating a poisoned school lunch in the state of Bihar, on July 18, 2013. Oil used to cook a school lunch that led to the deaths of 23 pupils in eastern India contained powerful insecticide, according to a forensic report. (AFP/File)

PATNA, India (AFP) – Oil used to cook a school lunch that led to the deaths of 23 pupils in eastern India contained powerful insecticide, a forensic report said Saturday.

The children died after eating lentils, potatoes and rice cooked at the school last Tuesday with oil containing an agricultural insecticide -- organophosphorus -- that was five times the strength commercially available, the report said.