Binh DuongEating free bread and dumplings during the Co Ong Bon Festival in Lai Thieu, many people felt tired, had stomachaches, vomited, dizzy, and were admitted to the emergency room.
The festival took place on the morning of April 3 in Lai Thieu ward, Thuan An city. Bread and dumplings were given free by the charity group to people attending the festival. After eating cake about 1-2 hours, many people show signs of poisoning.
A representative of Thuan An City Medical Center said that as of this afternoon, 47 people, most of them young people from the lion and dragon group serving the festival, were hospitalized. Currently, 5 people with mild symptoms have been discharged from the hospital, 42 people have stabilized their health but must stay in the hospital for monitoring.
Authorities took food samples to test to find the cause of the incident. It is unclear how much bread and dumplings the charity group distributed at the festival.
Poisoned person treated at Thuan An City Medical Center. Image: Yen Khanh
Ong Bon Pagoda Festival is a festival of the Chinese people in Binh Duong, commemorating the death anniversary of the ancestors of pottery, held on February 25 (lunar calendar). According to Chinese religious customs, Ong Bon is not worshiped permanently in one locality but is rotated in temples. Therefore, the Ong Bon pagoda festival is aimed at inviting Ong Bon to come to a temple every year. Thus, according to tradition, there must be a festival every four years.
The festival program includes sacrificial rituals, a procession of divine palanquins that lasts all night for dozens of kilometers, Ho Quang singing, tickle dancing, lion and dragon dancing…