NANNING - More than 60 students from a primary school in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region have contracted food poisoning and been hospitalized on Wednesday, local authorities said.

The students from a boarding school, Bailan Primary School, in Youjiang district of Baise city, began showing symptoms of stomachache and diarrhea around 3 am, sources with the district's government said.

The students had their Tuesday supper at the school's canteen.

Most of them had been discharged from hospital by Wednesday evening, while 18 remain hospitalized for further observation. None are in life-threatening conditions.

Health workers and disease control personnel are looking into the possible causes of the food poisoning.