Some 20 children have died on Tuesday in eastern India after eating a free school lunch that unfortunately poisoned them. Authorities believed the death tally could rise in the coming days as dozens of other children have been hospitalized.

Free School Lunch Kills 20 Children in India

The children, aged between eight and 11 years old, were all students of an unidentified state primary school in the village of Marakh in Saran district in the eastern state of Bihar.

"It is sad but true that 20 children died after eating their midday meal, which appears to be poisonous," P K Shahi, education minister of Bihar state, told AFP on Wednesday.

The food that was served was composed of rice and lentils that had been cooked at the school.

Free lunches are a common occurrence in India's poor families. Educators see the meals as a good way to entice the students and their families to attend school, thus increasing school attendance.

The state government has extended 200,000 rupees ($3,370) per family as compensation for the untimely death of the young children.

A total of 47 students fell sick on Tuesday after eating the free lunch, of which 28 have been rushed to medical facilities located in Chhapra and Patna.

Nitish Kumar, Bihar state chief minister, has ordered an inquiry. The food inspector has been suspended while a criminal negligence case had been filed against the school's headmaster.