78 people have also been hospitalised as a result of turtle meat consumption(Picture: Getty)
A group of tourists have died after eating a rare delicacy whilst on holiday in Zanzibar.
Eight children and a woman were killed after they tucked into sea turtle meat.
The delicacy is known to cause chelonitoxism, a type of food poisoning.
The tourists were on Pemba Island, which is part of the Zanzibar Archipelago.
A further 78 people were hospitalised after consuming the meat, which is said to taste like beef with a texture that can be roughly compared to squid or alligator.
The adult who died after the meal was the mother of one of the children who had already lost their life earlier last week.
The animals are an endangered species and considered a delicacy in Zanzibar (Picture: Getty Images)
Mkonai District medical officer, Dr Haji Bakari said the meat was consumed on March 5.
Dr Bakari said laboratory tests conducted confirmed all casualties had eaten sea turtle meat, Associated Press reports.
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Zanzibar authorities sent a disaster management team to the region, who urged people to avoid consuming sea turtles.
The exact cause of chelonitoxism is not known, but it is thought to be linked to turtles eating poisonous algae, according to the Turtle Foundation charity.
In 2021, seven people, including a three-year-old died on Pemba island after eating poisonous turtle meat.
Cases of chelontoxism have also been reported in Indonesia, Mironesia and in India’s Indian Ocean islands.
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