A family of four was injured after eating a watermelon sprayed with an insecticide in the Russian capital Moscow, Gazeta.ru reports.
A 15-year-old girl and her 61-year-old grandmother died at the hospital, and a 38-year-old mother remained under supervision in the intensive care unit of a Moscow hospital.
The incident occurred on September 9, but only now are investigators finding out the cause of the poisoning.
The family bought a watermelon at a local retail store. During the investigation, it was established that the employee of the disinfection and disinsection plant inadvertently sprayed watermelons while treating the store area from cockroaches. According to BGNES, the fruit was stored on the ground in violation of storage rules.
The spray officer has been arrested and faces up to 10 years in prison. A 39-year-old man used the dangerous substance cygalothrin.
According to the store manager, samples of sprayed watermelons showed that “they are much more poisonous than the drug on the floor.”
The investigation into this case is ongoing.