Two villagers died and seven others fell seriously ill after they ate poisonous mushrooms, collected from the woods in Kok Sathon sub-district in Thailand’s north-eastern province of Loei.

The nine villagers developed stomach aches and diarrhoea after having eaten the cooked mushrooms and were rushed to the district hospital for emergency treatment.

A 72-year-old woman died of sudden kidney and liver failure. A 41-year-old man also died.

A doctor at the hospital said that the other seven villagers need blood transfusions and the hospital was running short of blood, prompting their relatives to appeal for blood donations.

Dr. Charnchai Boonyu, the provincial health chief, advised wild mushroom collectors to be cautious about what they pick from the bushes and, if they are not certain that the mushrooms are safe, they should not eat them.