One woman and one child dead after hundreds suffer food poisoning in Iraq refugee camp

One woman and one child have died after hundreds of people fell ill from food poisoning in a refugee camp near Mosul, officials from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.

At least 752 fell ill and 312 of those were rushed to nearby hospitals.

People started vomiting and some fainted after eating an iftar meal, breaking the Muslim Ramadan fast, said Iraqi lawmaker Zahed Khatoun.

The medical centre where people are being treated Credit: AP

The Hassan Sham camp, which houses around 5,000 families, in al-Khazer on the road linking Mosul and Erbil houses people who have fled the intense fighting between Islamic State and the Iraqi troops trying to recapture the city.

A Qatari NGO contracted a local restaurant to provided the meal to fasting people in the camp, the IOM official told ITV News.

Many children are among the sick Credit: AP

People began feeling ill after eating the meal of rice, yogurt, chicken and soup.

Samples of the food have been sent for testing to establish if there was a bacterial contamination or due to how it was distributed and consumer, the official added.

The Hassan Sham camp for people displaced by the fighting near Mosul Credit: AP

A UN spokesperson told ITV News it is "extremely concerned about events at the camp" and staff have been working overnight to ensure all affected recevied "swift medical treatment".

The spokesperson added: "We are waiting for the police investigations to understand clearly the chain of events and to draw lessons from this tragic incident which will all agencies to reinforce public health protocols to prevent such situations in the future.”