KOLKATA: At least 33 passengers in the Kolkata-bound 12278 Puri-Howrah Shatabdi Express were taken ill allegedly after consuming the breakfast served on board on Wednesday morning, a senior railway official said.
Fourteen of them had to be briefly hospitalised following complaints of uneasiness and vomiting.
"Initially, two passengers complained of vomiting and uneasiness when the train reached West Midnapore district's Belda station. A doctor was immediately rushed to attend the passengers. Later, 15 others complained of similar symptoms," Sanjoy Ghosh, Chief Public Relations Officer of the South Eastern Railway, told IANS.
The affected passengers were treated at Kharagpur station that kept the train there for almost an hour.
"Another 14 passengers had to be briefly admitted to Kharagpur Railway Hospital for check-up. All of them were released later," he said.
A section of the affected passengers claimed to have fallen ill after consuming the food served by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) in the train.
"We started feeling unwell after eating the omelette and bread that was served after the train left Bhubaneswar," a passenger said.
The railway official, however, claimed that it is not certain whether the passengers consumed food served by the IRCTC or outside vendors.
"The food samples of the IRCTC have been sent for testing. We can confirm whether it had anything bad in it after the report comes out. However, it is unlikely because nearly 500 passengers in the train were served the same food while a small proportion of them complained of food poisoning," Mr Ghosh added.