Two die after eating mushrooms

TWO people have died after eating poisonous mushrooms picked in the countryside.

The incident occurred earlier this month and the two people, a woman aged 75 and a man aged 38, died while awaiting liver transplants at the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon.

It is believed they ate death cap amanita phalloides, a toxic species of mushroom that resembles several edible types.

The anti-poison centre in the Rhône-Alpes and said that two other people in the Rhône area are also being treated for digestive problems after eating poisonous species.

Of the 388 mushroom poisoning cases registered last year, 44 occurred in Rhône-Alpes.

The region's Agence Régionale de Santé said that mushroom pickers across the country could take their finds to a pharmacy where they would be verified in the case of any doubts. Pharmacists are trained to do this and it is a free service.