Three farmers who were believed to have mistaken fertiliser for salt and used it to prepare a meal died after enjoying the food on a farm at Nkawkaw in the Tain District. The deceased, Kwaku Num, 22, Kwadwo Dagati, 36, and Kofi Dagati, 34, were said to have used the 'salt' to prepare soup and consumed it with fufu. After taking the meal, they started developing severe abdominal pains and died later on the farm. Their bodies were found on the farm three days later by a search party. A fourth person, Bemtolaze .Erfaanibe Dagati, who partook of the meal but left earlier for home, was rushed to the Wenchi Methodist Hospital and is responding to treatment. The Wenchi District Police Commander, Deputy Superintendent of Police Mr Prince Sam Kwame Osae, who confirmed the story to the Daily Graphic, said the four had gone to the farm on June 2, 2008 and while they were there, they decided to prepare soup to enjoy it with the fufu that they had pounded. Mr Osae said upon realising, after preparing the soup, that there was no salt, one of them rode a bicycle somewhere and brought a whitish substance which they believed was salt and put it into the soup. He said after enjoying the meal, they, started experiencing severe stomach pains but Erfaanibe left for home, where he started vomiting blood. Mr Osae said Erfaanibe became unconscious and was rushed to the Wenchi Methodist Hospital where a test confirmed that he had taken in fertiliser. He said three days later the families of the three deceased persons realised that their relatives had not returned home so they organised a search party to look for them. Their bodies, which had started decomposing, were found on the farm. The bodies of the deceased have been deposited at the Wenchi Methodist Hospital morgue, while the post mortem conducted also confirmed that they died as a result of the consumption of fertiliser.