Twenty-seven students in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province were sickened Wednesday in a suspected case of food poisoning, authorities said Thursday.

Affected students from the Central School at Dongyang Township in the province's city of Qiqihar were sent to the hospital after having breakfast at the school, said a city government spokesman.

Their symptoms included nausea, high fever and headache, said the spokesman.

Seventeen of the affected students were discharged from the hospital by 9 p.m. Thursday, while ten others still being treated. All of the affected students are in stable condition, the spokesman said.

An initial investigation showed that the students may have been sickened by drinking contaminated water or eating food that was prepared using the water, as recent rainfalls may have tainted the school's well, the spokesman said.