Giant turtle meat kills 4

At least four people, including a seven-month-old girl, have died and dozens of others have fallen ill after eating the poisonous meat of a giant sea turtle caught off the coast of southwestern Cambodia, police and hospital officials said Wednesday.

Fishermen netted the 34-kilogram (75-pound) turtle off the port city of Sihanoukville on Saturday and divided up the meat among villagers, with dozens later suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, said Kheng Sophal, a local police chief.

He said four people died after eating the turtle meat, a type known among experts to contain toxins from jellyfish, starfish, crustaceans and other organisms it feeds on.

Keo Pov, a 7-month-old girl who ate some of the meat, died at a Sihanoukville hospital Sunday. Pen Somphors, a 5-year-old girl, died at the same hospital Monday.

Also Monday, Keo Pov's 38-year-old mother and 2-year-old sister died after arriving at a hospital in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, he

said.

Pheng Theany, director of the Sihanoukville hospital, said 61 villagers were admitted Sunday to seek treatment for sore throats, exhaustion, dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea.

"That's because they ate the turtle, which was already dead when it was lifted from the water. Some fishermen netted it and divided up the meat in the village," she said.

She said a 7-year-old girl had also died at her hospital, but police said they recorded only four deaths and suggested that the hospital may have counted one of the dead girls twice.

Most of the patients have already recovered, Pheng Theany said, adding that authorities have told villagers living along the coast near Sihanoukville to avoid eating sea turtle meat.

A similar mass poisoning from giant sea turtle meat occurred in Sihanoukville in December 2002. Three people died and more than 100 fell seriously ill in that incident.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia's main port city, is about 185 km southwest of Phnom Penh.