PESHAWAR:A family in Miang Abdul Wali Shah Town in the Doranpur area here on Wednesday plunged into grief after three young siblings died following a meal prepared with mushrooms collected from nearby fields.
The deceased children were identified as 11-year-old Arooj, 10-year-old Faryal and seven-year-old Azlan. Their tragic deaths have left their parents devastated, with their father, Muhammad Zahir, mourning the loss of his two daughters and only son.
According to Muhammad Zahir, he had brought mushrooms growing in fields near their home. His wife cooked them, and the family shared the meal. Soon afterwards, several family members fell seriously ill and were rushed to hospital.
The father said he, his wife and another daughter also required medical treatment and remained under care. His brother took the family to Lady Reading Hospital while they were unconscious, he added.
Muhammad Zahir alleged that doctors were not available at the hospital and that the lack of beds in its intensive care unit (ICU) forced the family to seek treatment at a private ICU located opposite the hospital.
He claimed that his children died one after another during treatment at the private facility. He also alleged that the management refused to hand over their bodies until the outstanding charges were paid.
Overwhelmed by grief, the father lamented that timely medical assistance might have saved his children.
The exact type of mushrooms consumed by the family and the medical cause of the three deaths have yet to be confirmed. There was no verified information establishing whether the mushrooms were poisonous.
Experts caution that wild mushrooms can be dangerous if their safety has not been established. Anyone who develops symptoms after consuming an unidentified mushroom should seek immediate medical assistance.
The loss of three young lives in a single family has turned an ordinary family meal into an unbearable tragedy, leaving grieving parents to cope with the loss of their children and raising questions about the availability of timely emergency care.