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More than
90 police officers at a jungle base in Peru have been taken to hospital with
food poisoning.
The
officers developed fever, nausea and stomach ache after eating chicken soup at
Mazuco police base in Tambopata province, officials say.
Police said
they would investigate the suppliers of the meals.
The
officers had been deployed to the base to reinforce operations against illegal
gold miners in the Madre de Dios area.
The police
officer said 150 police had been taken to the medical post on the base, but
many had to be moved to hospitals because the base did not have enough
medication.
One of the
officers who fell ill told local media he and his colleagues had been
"poisoned with bad food, dirty meat, and eggs and fish that were
off".
Mercury
rising
Regional
police chief Hector Dulanto said he would travel to the area to investigate the
case.
The area
has been the scene of violent clashes between the security forces and miners
protesting against tougher penalties for illegal operations.
The miners
say the new rules will put them out of work, but the government says the
sanctions will encourage miners to get the necessary permits.
An
estimated 50,000 miners do not have a licence to operate.
The
government says large areas of jungle have been destroyed by illegal mining and
high levels of mercury, which is used for mining, have been found in waterways.
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