Sixteen people died and 35 were injured in Russia after drinking counterfeit cider, the governor of the Ulyanovsk region, on the Volga, said Monday about a tragedy common in this country.
“The number of victims of alcohol poisoning in the Ulyanovsk region continues to increase. According to the latest information, 35 people were injured … 16 people died”said Alexei Russkikh through the social network Telegram.
The same source added that 19 people have been hospitalized in different health departments and doctors are “fighting for the lives of each of them”.
According to Russian media, the victims drank a drink called “Mister Cidre”, which contained methanol, a highly toxic product.
This drink was sold in some stores that sold alcohol.
The Russian authorities have opened an investigation and ordered the confiscation of the contaminated batches.
Deaths from adulterated alcohol are not uncommon in Russia, where the price of liquor sold in department stores can be prohibitive for millions of poor Russians, especially in provinces where living standards are very low.
As of October 2021, 35 people have died after being poisoned by alcohol in two separate incidents in Russia.
In 2016, more than 60 people in Irkutsk, Siberia, died after taking a bath oil that mimicked a well-known brand of sea buckthorn essence and had ethanol replaced with methanol.
Source: DN
