Bhubaneswar: Altogether five children were taken ill after they mistakenly consumed fertilizer by thinking it as salt in Deogarh district of Odisha today.

The incident took place at Saruali village under Barkote police limits in Deogarh in the afternoon.

As per reports, the five children, aged around 5 to 10 years, plucked lemons from the backyard of a villager and searched for salt to eat the citrus fruit.

While searching for salt in his house, one among the five boys mistook fertilizer (potash) as the kitchen essential and brought a small quantity of it for consumption with the lemons.

The five children, later, consumed the lemons with the fertilizer by thinking it as salt. They fell ill after a few minutes of consuming the fertilizer.

The five children were rushed to a hospital at Pal Lahara in Angul district by their family members. They are now undergoing treatment at the hospital and their condition is stated to be stable.