Sixty-two students from School No. 51 in the Guzor district of Kashkadarya province were hospitalized on September 23 showing signs of poisoning after a chemical was sprayed on a nearby agricultural field.
As of September 25, 33 children remained hospitalized, ten of them in intensive care, according to parents and teachers.
Chinese-made chemical suspected in poisoning near school field
Parents say the incident occurred near school No. 51 in Bakhmal village, part of Yangiobod neighborhood. A road runs between the school and the field in question.
According to parents, a tractor was used to spray a chemical agent on the field near the school. It has not yet been officially disclosed what substance was used, who ordered its application, or whether safety protocols were followed during spraying.
"More than ten children are in intensive care"
One parent said students of various ages were among the hospitalized, including children as young as 7, 8, and 11. Parents themselves say they don't have an exact count of how many children were affected.
The parent estimated that around 20 children were being treated in regular hospital wards, with more than ten in intensive care — figures that have not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of Health.
Several children sharing hospital rooms, with some receiving oxygen through masks or nasal tubes. One person who filmed such footage said the following:
"These are children from Guzor district, Kashkadarya province, who were poisoned. There's still no diagnosis or conclusion. It's been three days since they were admitted. They're a bit better, but still breathing with the help of a machine."
Parents say the incident occurred after an unidentified toxic chemical was sprayed on a cotton field belonging to local farmer Shermat Nafasov in order to defoliate the crop. Attempts to reach the farmer directly were unsuccessful.
One father who did speak with the farmer said Nafasov confirmed he had planted seeds imported from China and that the defoliant sprayed on the cotton had also been brought in from China.
Why hasn't a diagnosis been disclosed?
Parents say they have not been given a written final diagnosis for their children.
They also say they have not been told which specific chemical caused the poisoning.
Parents are calling for an investigation into the farmer and the responsible government agencies to determine exactly what substance was sprayed on the field.
An official laboratory finding has yet to confirm that the children's symptoms were caused by pesticide exposure. No such finding has been made public so far.
