Balasore, Nov 21: Three young children from Shalabani village, under the Mahisapatta panchayat in Nilagiri block, were hospitalized on Thursday after accidentally ingesting Thimet, a highly toxic agricultural insecticide, which they mistook for salt while playing.

The children, identified as Yuvraj Singh (8), son of Babula Singh, Indurekha Singh (5), daughter of Akshay Singh, and Ghanashyam Singh (4), son of Ramesh Singh, were playing a traditional mud-kitchen game with coconut shells on Thursday afternoon. During the game, the children were pretending to cook by filling the shells with soil, mimicking the act of preparing meals.

In a tragic mix-up, one of the children fetched a packet of Thimet from a nearby house, believing it to be salt. The children unknowingly mixed the pesticide with chopped onions and consumed it as part of their pretend meal.

By evening, the children began exhibiting signs of poisoning, including nausea, dizziness, and severe discomfort. Concerned family members immediately rushed them to the Nilagiri Sub-Divisional Hospital for treatment. Due to the severity of their condition, the children were transferred to Remuna Medical College in Balasore for more specialized care.

As of the latest reports, one child’s condition remains critical, and he has been transferred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for advanced treatment.

The incident has raised alarms in the village, highlighting the dangers of storing hazardous chemicals like pesticides in places easily accessible to children. Local authorities are urging residents to take extra precautions in handling and storing such substances to prevent similar accidents in the future.