PATNA, India July 17 (Reuters) - At least 20 children died and dozens were taken to hospital with apparent food poisoning after eating a meal provided for free at their school in the Indian state of Bihar, the education minister said on Wednesday, sparking violent protests.

路透社印度巴特那7月17日 - 印度教育部长周三表示，比哈尔邦一所学校的学生在吃完免费午餐后发生食物中毒，至少20名学生死亡，数十名学生被送往医院。此事还引发了暴力抗议事件。

Police said the children, aged eight to 11, fell ill after consuming a lunch of rice, soybean and pulses on Tuesday. The school, in the district of Chapra, provided free meals under the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the world's largest school feeding programme involving 120 million children.

警方称，这些学生周二在吃完包括大米、大豆和其他豆类的午餐后出现不适。学生年龄在8-11岁之间。事发学校位于比哈尔邦的恰布拉(Chapra)地区。这所学校根据免费午餐计划(Mid- Day Meal Scheme)向学生提供免费午餐。该计划是全球最大的学校饮食项目，涉及1.2亿儿童。

Education minister M.M. Pallam Raju said a school cook had also died. The initial death toll of eight shot up to 20 on Wednesday.

教育部长帕拉姆·拉举(Shri MM Pallam Raju)称，学校的一名厨师也已经去世。周三，死亡人数从最初的8人迅速攀升至20人。

The exact cause of the deaths will be known only after the postmortem examinations and food sample tests, doctors and state officials said.

医生和政府官员表示，确切死因只有在尸检和食物样品检测后才能知道。

"As soon as my boy returned from school, we rushed to the hospital with him. He was vomiting and he said his stomach was aching," said Raja Yadav, the father of one schoolboy.

Dozens of residents took to the streets in Chapra, pelting a police station with stones and setting ablaze buses and other vehicles, television channels showed.

电视画面显示，数十名居民走上恰布拉的街头，用石头砸警察局，并放火焚烧巴士和其他车辆。

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ordered an inquiry into the incident and has offered 200,000 rupees ($3,400) to the families of those who have died, the state's food minister said.

比哈尔邦食品官员称，该邦首席部长Nitish Kumar已下令调查此事，并向遇难者家属提供20万卢比(3,400美元)的抚恤金。

Bihar is one of the most impoverished states in India, according to government data.

根据政府公布的数据，比哈尔邦是印度最贫困的国家之一。