AL-AHSA: Al-Mabzar municipality has closed down a famous restaurant after 33 people fell ill with suspected food poisoning after having a meal at the eatery.

The people were taken to Prince Saud bin Jalawi Hospital, while the director of health affairs in Al-Ahsa, Abdulhamid Al-Omair, issued an alert for other hospitals to prepare for other cases if needed.

Abdulrahman Al-Sadarani, public relations director for Al-Ahsa health department, said 10 people were hospitalized while another 10 were undergoing tests, a local publication reported Wednesday.

Al-Mabzar Mayor Ghassan Al-Sadhoun said the municipality received a call from the general directorate for environmental health about the cases, and immediately dispatched two teams to the hospital and the restaurant for further investigations.