5 In Hospital After Being Served Dry Ice As Mouth Freshener At Gurugram Cafe

Five people started throwing up blood and reported a burning sensation in their mouths after eating mouth freshener after their meal at a cafe in Gurugram on March 2.

Ankit Kumar was at the Laforestta Cafe in Gurugram's Sector 90 with his wife and his friends. In a video recording inside the restaurant by Mr Kumar, his five friends, including his wife, are seen screaming and crying in pain and discomfort. One of the men then vomits on the restaurant floor while a woman puts ice in her mouth, repeatedly saying, "It's burning."

Mr Kumar then says, "We don't know what they have mixed (in the mouth freshener). Everyone here is vomiting. They have cuts on their tongues. Their mouths are burning. Don't know what type of acid they have given us." He then asks people in the cafe to call the police.

In his complaint to the police, Mr Kumar said, "I showed the packet of the mouth freshener to a doctor, who said it was dry ice. According to the doctor, it is an acid which can lead to death."

According to reports, the victims first felt a burning sensation in their mouths and began to throw up. Soon, they were vomiting blood. Rinsing their mouths with water also didn't help.

The five people have been hospitalised and two of them are said to be in critical condition.

The police have registered a case against the restaurant's owner based on the victims' complaints.

(With input from PTI)