QUITO: A total of 213 children and five teachers of a school in the southeast Ecuadorian province of Morona Santiago were sickened after dining in the school canteen, the health authorities said on Wednesday.

Alvaro Diaz, director of the Hospital Pio XII of Sucua said the health authorities confirmed massive intoxication through lab tests.

The doctors said all of the sickened had the same symptoms: diarrhea and stomachache, and due to the large number of patients, the provincial health authorities declared an alert in different hospitals.

The cause of the poisoning is not yet clear, but the food samples have been taken to a state-run lab, with test results expected by the weekend.