Two children died and six others were taken ill after eating a mid-day meal at a state-run school in Bihar's Sitamarhi district, an official said Thursday. According to a police source, Sangita Kumari, 12, and Neelu Kumari, 11, died of food poisoning after eating the mid-day meal Tuesday at Harsingh Middle School in Sitamarhi, about 170 km from here. One student died Wednesday night and another Thursday morning. Six students were hospitalised after their condition deteriorated.

"All of them fell ill after eating mid-day meal in the school," the source said.

The district administration has ordered a probe into the incident. In Bihar, widespread corruption is reported in the mid-day meal scheme as government guidelines on food quality are ignored. A few months ago, a lizard and a dead rat were found in the food cooked for the mid-day meal, angering students and parents.