Toxic herbs 'kill 13 in S Africa'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/africa/7631172.stm

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Thirteen members of the same family have been found dead in South Africa after apparently taking herbal medicine, local media have reported.

The family had been taking part in a traditional ritual and may have taken the wrong herbs, Sapa news agency cited police as saying.

Five of the dead were young children, including a two-week-old baby.

Many South Africans use herbal medicine and consult traditional healers as well as modern doctors.

Post-mortem examinations were being conducted to determine the exact cause of death of the victims, who were found dead in their home near Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal province.

"It is alleged that one family member who was trained as a traditional healer gave them a certain herbal medicine, which is suspected to have been the cause of the deaths," Sapa quoted police official Zandra Wiid as saying.