Three villagers died and dozens more were rushed to a hospital after eating a tainted sea turtle in the Philippines.

The uneducated locals, who were part of the Teduray ethnic tribe, feasted on the marine creature cooked in coconut milk before suffering severe diarrhoea, vomiting, lockjaw, and abdominal spasms in Maguindanao del Norte province on November 29.

Rescue volunteers rushed them to a hospital, but three people died of food poisoning. Footage shows authorities returning the cadavers to their families to be buried in the tribe's territory.

Thirty-one more, including two pregnant women and six minors, were still in the hospital.

Local disaster officer Irene Dillo said the residents had bought the sea turtle for lunch from a fisherman for 300 PHP (4 GBP) and were baffled by its red shell.

She said: 'The tribe was known to eat sea turtles, but they said it was the first time they had seen one with a red shell. We couldn't inspect what it looked like because they burned it out of fear.

'Even the dogs, cats, and chickens that fed on scraps of sea turtle meat died. Actually, we have already prohibited eating endangered marine species here in Datu Blah town but enforcing the rules is still a problem.'

Marshall Sinsuat, Datu Blah mayor, said he has directed village chiefs to strictly impose the ban on catching sea turtles for food.

He said: 'Our local government unit has a standing policy against that in support of the government's sea turtle conservation program. This food poisoning incident will never happen again.'

The Philippine fisheries bureau had earlier issued a red tide warning in parts of Mindanao island where the tribe's home is located.

Red tide is a harmful algal bloom caused by an overgrowth of microscopic algae that release toxins and discolour the water. These toxins can harm marine life and contaminate seafood.

Symptoms of red tide poisoning in humans include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain after consuming contaminated sea creatures.