128 fall ill after eating noodles in South Cotabato

SOUTH COTABATO, Philippines — Local officials rushed to different hospitals as 128 villagers downed by an supposed improperly cooked food during a gathering Sunday in Lake Sebu municipality.

Lake Sebu is a hinterland municipality more than 20 kilometers northwest of Koronadal City, South Cotabato's provincial capital.

The victims belong to a local sect which held a religious gathering at Barangay Takunel in Lake Sebu last Sunday.

Lake Sebu Mayor Antonio Fungan told reporters the victims first complained of painful abdominal spasms before they got dizzy after feasting on noodles served during their gathering.

Some of the victims repeatedly threw up and even fainted as their conditioned worsened.

Catholic-run station dxOM in Koronadal City, one of the six outfits in Central Mindanao of the popular Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation, reported Monday that many of the victims rushed to hospitals were minors.