The incident occurred at a gathering of children and women who had gathered to receive free meals as part of the community feeding programme.
Visakhapatnam:More than 20 people, including at least 14 children, were injured on Saturday when a large pot of hot rice porridge overturned during a charity food distribution event at the Durgamma Ammavari Annadana programme in Jalaripeta, under the One Town police station jurisdiction.
The incident occurred at a gathering of children and women who had gathered to receive free meals as part of the community feeding programme. According to ACP Harbour, the accident occurred when a cooking pot containing rice fell over, spilling its hot contents onto people standing in a queue to receive food.
"The incident happened when the rice pot fell. Children and ladies were standing in a queue to take rice, and when it fell, they suffered injuries," ACP Harbour stated. All victims were immediately shifted to King George Hospital (KGH) for treatment. Dr. Vani, KGH Superintendent, talking to this correspondent, confirmed that 20 people were admitted, with 14 of them being children under 15 years of age. "All are stable and in non-critical condition. Only two children have suffered burns of 15-20%. We are keeping both of them in the hospital, and the others have been discharged," she stated.
Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep concern following an incident at an Annadana programme and directed the district collector to inquire about the children's condition. He instructed that the injured children receive the best possible medical care.
The district collector assured that none of the children are in critical danger. Twenty children were hospitalised following the accident at the event. While six children sustained moderately serious injuries and remain under hospital care, those with minor injuries have been treated and discharged.
Officials confirmed that all the children are in stable condition with no life-threatening complications, and their health is being continuously monitored.
