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| Sunday, 23 May 2004 |
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Security |  |
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131 Airmen fall sick: Probe into 'special menu' dinner by Anton Nonis The Air Force has launched an investigation into the safety and quality of food items which are supplied to the armed forces in Palaly. This follows the incident where 131 airmen and three officers had fallen sick following a special dinner last Sunday. Air Force commander, Donald Perera said he had ordered a thorough investigation into the incident and taken steps to prevent any such occurrence in the future. Commander Perera said the package of fresh rations comprised meat and vegetables. A load of about 16 tonnes of food were being sent to the security forces in the North and the East on a daily basis. It was airlifted from the Ratmalana airport to Palaly. "Once the food items reach their destination, they are distributed among the three forces, the Air Force, the Army and the Police. But the Navy usually gets its food to the respective areas by ship", he said. Last Sunday, it was a special menu for the Air Force at Palaly. According to Wing Commander, Ajantha Silva, the suspected contaminated food issue had surfaced about eight hours after lunch, around 8 p.m. Those who had consumed the meal had suffered severe vomiting, diarrohea and stomach pain. The security men who had fallen sick were despatched quickly to the Palaly hospital for treatment. The real cause of the contamination was not known yet. Commander Perera said that stools of the affected personnel and food samples were sent to the Medical Research Institute (MRI) in Colombo for analysis an identification of the causative organism. The meat to be loaded to the plane was stored in refrigerators. However, there was no refrigeration facilities in the aircraft. Hence, it was packed in regifoam boxes under hygienic conditions before being loaded into the plane. "Once the fresh rations are unloaded from the plane, they are taken to the camp for cooking. According to Media Director, Col.Sumedha Perera, there was the possibility of delays occurring at some points. There was suspicion among the security officials that contamination could have occurred even in the curd served as dessert which constituted a portion of the menu. Commander Perera said that no sooner the information was received in Colombo, a team of medical experts was despatched to Palaly. The victims were discharged from hospital from time to time, whereas those had suffered the bout severely had to remain for longer. However, all of them were discharged by Tuesday and reported for duty by Friday. He said that this was the first time that such a large number of airmen were struck as a result of consuming contaminated food. Instructions had been given for a thorough disinfection exercise and clean-up of all the cooking utensils, glass tumblers, plates and also drinking water at the Palaly camp. "We will not leave out anything. We will check into everything as to how this happened," Commander Perera said. |
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