An Indian family of four, including father, mother and their two children have died from suspected food poisoning after consuming watermelon at a family gathering on Saturday. 

Reports indicated that the incident happened in Mumbai after Abdullla Abdul Kadar (40), his wife Nasrin (35), and their daughters Ayesha (16) and Zainab (13) complained of vomiting and dizziness shortly after eating watermelon.

The Assam Tribune reported that five guests at the function had been served chicken pulao at around 10:30 p.m. but the victims allegedly went back to eat the fruit at 1:00 a.m. after other relatives left the family’s residence in JJ Marg.

The four family members were subsequently rushed to a private hospital where they were treated by a family doctor before being transferred to JJ Hospital, where they died on Sunday, reports noted. 

“This incident happened on the second floor and I live on the fourth floor. When I reached, there were four people inside, including two daughters and the husband. They were in a drowsy state. One of the daughters was gasping for breath. She was panting and had no pulse.

“As a doctor, I understood the situation and started CPR on her. But she was not reviving. We immediately shifted her to a nearby hospital, but by the time she reached there, she was already dead,” an eyewitness told India Today.

The Tribune reported that initial assessment by Mumbai Police suggested the cause of their deaths might be linked to consumption of watermelon as other relatives that ate chicken pulao at the venue showed no sign of any illness.

“An unnatural death report has been registered at JJ Marg police station. Four members of a Muslim family, husband, wife and their two daughters, have died. On April 25, they had called relatives home and ate together. 

“Around 10:30 pm, the relatives left. Later at night, around 1 am, they ate watermelon. By early morning around 5–6 am, they started complaining of vomiting and loose motions,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Pravin Munde said. 

Police also stated that an investigation was underway and postmortem examinations had been conducted on the victims to determine the official cause of their deaths.

Mr Munde added “Postmortem has been conducted. Food samples and body samples have been taken. Further investigation is underway.”