Ranchi: Around 70 students in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand fell ill on Tuesday and were hospitalised after eating the mid-day meal that had a dead snake in it, police said.

According to police, many students of the primary school in Piyadih village of Govindpur block of Dhanbad district started vomiting and complained of stomach pain after eating the mid-day meal.

"The children said that a snake was cooked with the meal. The snake was found after food was served to students. The students started vomiting and complained of stomach pains after eating and were brought to Dhanbad on tractors and other modes of transportation. We have started investigations," a district police official told sources over telephone.

Around 70 students have been admitted in Patliputra Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in Dhanbad and the condition of ten students is said to be critical.

The school has around 350 students and a majority of those who fell ill are aged between five and 12 years. The principal of the school is absconding after incident.

Police have sent a team to school to take a sample of the food.

Dhanbad is around 290 km from Ranchi. IANS