NANNING - Over 20 students were sent to hospitals after becoming ill following breakfast at a primary school in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Friday, local authorities said.

Some students at the Shijia Primary School at Longchuan township, Youjiang district, Baise city, began vomiting and reporting headaches after eating breakfast, which included milk and eggs, served by the school at around 8:20 am on Friday, said Huang Caiqin, headmaster of the school.

The students were initially sent to a village clinic, but as more students developed similar symptoms, the school sent them to hospitals in the township and the district.

Seventeen students are still receiving treatment in hospitals, and they are in stable condition, Huang said, adding that another 49 remain under medical observation.

Relevant departments have sealed up all the breakfast foods and experts have been dispatched to the school to investigate the incident, the government of Youjiang district said.