Fifty-two children fell 'unconcious' on Wednesday after eating the free mid-day meal served at a government school in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, ANI reported.

The children started falling unconscious one after other right after finishing their meal. Alarmed villagers and school authorities rushed them to the government hospital in Pipalkota village.

However, due to the lack of medical facilities, the doctors asked parents to take the children to the district hospital in Khandwa, 27 km away, Hindi Daily - Nai Dunia reported.

The condition of the children is now said to be stable. The local authorities have launched an investigation and the sample of the food has been sent for tests. 

Mid-Day Meal

The government-sponsored free mid-day meal scheme feeds about 120 million children every day across India. However, time and again, there have been several incidents of food poisoning. 

In one of the worst cases related to mid-day meal poisoning, 23 children died in 2013 in Bihar. Many of the children died in their parents' arms while being taken to hospital.

Investigations later found that cooking oil was stored in a used pesticide container.