Jammu, May 19 -- Accidental consumption of a wild plant that resembles edible fiddlehead fern varieties may have caused the death of an elderly man and the illness of seven others of the same family in Modha Draj village of Kotranka tehsil in Rajouri district on May 16, experts from Rajouri Government Medical College (GMC) said on Monday.

According to the preliminary information gathered during the initial field assessment, the incident involved a localised cluster of family members who reportedly consumed a common meal during lunch on May 15. Several individuals developed acute gastrointestinal symptoms including nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea, which were subsequently followed by neurological manifestations suggestive of...