A deadly meal
An innocuous breakfast of fruit lies next to a boy in hospital, who ended up here as the result of another meal - one that proved fatal for many.
The sick youngster was among a group of school children in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, who fell ill after eating a free school lunch contaminated with pesticide. Twenty-three children died in the incident, which proved to be one of the deadliest outbreaks of mass poisoning in years.
A girl holds a container to receive her free midday meal at primary school in Brahimpur, a village close to the one where schoolchildren fell ill on July 16.
A teacher prepares to serve cooked rice to pupils at the school as part of India's free midday meal program, which feeds about 120 million children across the country every day.
Srimati Kumari, headmistress at the school not far from the one where school children fell ill, eats the free meal before the food is served to youngsters.
Children at her school sit on the floor to eat.
For millions of poor families, free lunches like this one are the only full meal their children are given in a day.
Pupils wash their plates before having their free midday meal.
A cook washes kitchen utensils after serving the meal at the school in Brahimpur.
A policeman holds up an oil bottle recovered from the school in Gandaman village, where contaminated meals were served to children. Police suspect the poisoning was caused by cooking oil kept in a container that had also been used to store pesticide.
A boy stands inside the one-room school where the tragedy took place.
A book lies open on the floor of the classroom.
Khushi Kumari cries in pain as she lies on a hospital bed after she ate one of the contaminated meals.
Kumari sits next to her grandfather inside the hospital.
A woman carries her niece who fell sick after consuming the contaminated food.
A boy lies on his mother's lap in hospital after he ate one of the meals.
Family members mourn the death of a young student.
A villager digs a grave to bury the clothes and toys of pupils who died.
He places the items in the ground.
Villagers stand next to the grave of one of the victims.
The clothes and shoes of a girl who died lie on top of her grave, where they were placed by her family.
