Ha Giang General Hospital in the namesake northern province admitted 11 children poisoned by wild fruit called 'Hong Chau' in Vietnamese on Monday and Tuesday, with one dead and three others in critical condition.

Dr. Nguyen Quoc Dung, deputy director of the hospital, said that the 11 children were hospitalized after eating the poisonous wild fruit.

The patients, aged 3 to 12, presented with respiratory failure, headache, stomachache, and weakened vision.

According to their family members, the children had been spending their summer vacation cutting grass for cattle. The accident occurred when the children picked and ate Hong Chau fruit. 

After consuming the wild fruit, they became dizzy and started to experience headache, stomachache, and vomiting.

Though they were brought to intensive care, heavy poisoning killed S.T.M., a nine-year-old resident of Dong Van District, on Tuesday night.

The three critically-ill children were transferred to the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi, the rest currently in stable health.

The kids are all from poor ethnic minority families, so the hospital called on charity organizations and individuals to provide them with clothes and food, as well as funding to cover transport fees for the deceased, said Dr. Dung.

Hong Chau, a climbing plant, mainly grows in rocky and mountainous areas.

The fruit is round and big. It looks similar to a star apple when ripe.

Hong Chau causes respiratory failure, cardiovascular collapse, and death.

In October 2021, the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai reported 17 cases of Hong Chau poisoning.

Among these child patients, one was pronounced dead.

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