Kollam: Seventy children were today hospitalised as they took ill after allegedly inhaling 'smoke' emanating from a plant of state-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Limited (KMML) at Chavara near here, prompting authorities to temporarily shut it down.

The condition of none of the children, students of three nearby schools, was stated to be serious, hospital sources said. The children were rushed to nearby hospitals after they developed symptoms of uneasiness and some of them vomited.