29 students seek help after drinking free coffee samples

Adults who had the same drink didn’t report any of the problems the younger students experienced

AT LEAST 29 students of Concord Technical Institute in Barangay Basak San Nicolas, Cebu City were rushed to the Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) yesterday after complaining of abdominal pain, heart palpitation, headache, and vomiting. They had all just consumed a bottled coffee drink. Because of the number of students rushed to the emergency room, CCMC declared a code white alert yesterday, which meant that all medical personnel were asked to stand by.

Nagiel Bañacia, head of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (CCDRRMO), said that before the incident, the high school students drank promotional samples of Kopiko 78C that were offered to them for free.

Hours after that, students began complaining of abdominal pain, heart palpitation, and headache. Some began vomiting.

CCDRRMO dispatched six ambulances to the school to transport the students to the hospital.

Kenneth Siasar, hospital administrator of CCMC, said some of the students vomited at least five times. But as of last night, all of the students were already in stable condition.

Bañacia and the City Health Department went immediately to the school after the incident was reported to the command center and collected samples of the free drink that had been distributed to the students.

According to the safety officer of the school, the coffee drink was intended for persons 18 years old and older. No one could explain how the students got their shares.

All other staff of the school who drank the same product did not feel any of the effects the students had.

Bañacia said samples of the coffee drink were sent to the laboratory of the Department of Science and Technology for testing.

Asked what the manufacturer of the product will face after the incident, Bañacia said City will just wait for their explanation and will decide after.

“We will also wait for the result of the laboratory test and see what we will do after,” he added.