Tainted alcohol death toll in Tamil Nadu rises to 54

At least 54 people have died and dozens are still hospitalised after drinking alcohol laced with methanol in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

Nearly 200 people have been treated since Wednesday (19) in the district of Kallakurichi, and more than 100 people are still being cared for across multiple hospitals. Forty-eight men and six women succumbed to the tainted liquor as of Saturday (22, with others being treated for symptoms including vomiting, stomach aches and diarrhoea.

People regularly buy illicit alcohol as few can afford branded spirit, sometimes leading to large casualty incidents, since some vendors add methanol to increase the potency of their drink.

But methanol, a highly toxic chemical substance used for industrial purposes, can lead to blindness, liver damage or death, even in small quantities.

According to M.S. Prasanth, a senior district official, at least seven people have been arrested by the authorities, who earlier said they also seized 200 litres of the illicitly produced alcoholic drink.-

(Aljazeera)

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