A child has reportedly died and more than 800 people taken to hospital after falling ill with food poisoning after eating at a restaurant outside Jordan’s capital.

The five-year-old boy was one of the 826 people taken to hospital after the first cases of food poisoning were detected in the Ain al-Bashra area of north-west Amman on Monday evening.

The director of Prince Hussein Hospital, Mohammad Abed told Petra revealed that the boy suffered heart failure and doctors were unable to save him,

Reports say the restaurant had been offering cut-price shawarmas, the rotisserie meat snack.

The local media say health officials found that the meat had not been refrigerated in what were heatwave temperatures.

Owing to this, three people, including the restaurant owner, have been detained.

Health Minister Saad Jaber noted that “All those affected said they had eaten meals from the same restaurant.

Jabar has however asserted that an investigation into the poisoning outbreak was under way while stressing that “any offender will be held accountable, regardless of who they are”.

Local media reported that the shawarma meal had been on special offer at half its normal price, resulting in a higher than normal number of diners.

Health ministry official Adnan Ishaq told state television that the meat had become infected because it was not refrigerated, and laboratory tests had shown bacteria in the meat and poultry.

Jordan has been experiencing high temperatures in recent days, with Amman exceeding 40C (100F).