Officials are investigating the ?mysterious? deaths of 17 people ? most of them children ? in the same village in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir.

The deaths, including those of 12 children, have occurred in the remote village of Badhal in Jammu?s Rajouri district since 7 December.

The victims initially displayed symptoms similar to food poisoning but suddenly lost consciousness, health officials said.

The village has been declared a containment zone, but officials have said that the disease does not appear to be infectious, and there is no fear of an epidemic.

Dr AS Bhatia, the chief of a local hospital, said that the first five patients ? including four children ? who were admitted had symptoms similar to food poisoning, including vomiting and diarrhoea. Others complained of sore throats and breathing problems.

But then, all of them would abruptly lose consciousness, he added.

The federal government has ordered an investigation. A special investigation team set up by the local administration, comprising police officers, pathologists and other specialists, has questioned dozens of people so far.

According to initial investigations, consumption of contaminated food and water may have been the cause. Residents of the village have been asked not to drink water from a local spring after a test sample showed it contained traces of pesticides.

The deaths occurred between 7 December and 19 January and the victims were members of three related families. Six of the children who died were siblings, with ages ranging from seven to 15 years. Their houses have been sealed.

Though doctors have ruled out the possibility of an infection, an administrative order says that people identified as close contacts of the three families are being moved to a government hospital in Rajouri, where their condition will be monitored. The order also asks all other residents of Badhal to only consume food and water provided by the administration.

?All edible materials in the infected households shall be seized by the authorities,? the order said.

At least 10 people have been admitted for treatment in hospitals in Rajouri, Jammu and Chandigarh city.

Dr Shuja Quadri, an epidemiologist at the Government Medical College in Rajouri, said that the disease is localised and that they have ruled out the possibility of viral, bacterial, protozoal and zoonotic infections.

Among the second cluster of patients who were admitted on 12 December, five people, including a one-year-old child, have recovered.

?This was a ray of hope for us,? Dr Bhatia said. (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)

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