Nine die after drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer after liquor stores were closed due to coronavirus in Indian town
- Group lost consciousness after consuming ‘high quantity’ of hand sanitizer mixed with water or soda
- Police superintendent for Kurichedu said they were rushed to hospital but declared dead on arrival
- Liquor stores were closed when authorities ordered lockdown of town to combat coronavirus
Nine people have died in India in the last two days from drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer after liquor shops in their town were closed due to coronavirus restrictions, police said Friday.
The group lost consciousness after consuming a ‘high quantity’ of hand sanitizer mixed with water or soda, Siddharth Kaushal, police superintendent for Kurichedu town in Andhra Pradesh state said.
He said they were rushed to hospital but declared dead on arrival and an investigation has been launched into the deaths.
Nine people have died in India from drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer after liquor shops in their town were closed due to coronavirus restrictions. Pictured: a man in New Delhi is tested for the virus
The group turned to hand sanitizer ‘as a substitute’ for liquor after licensed liquor stores were closed when authorities ordered a lockdown of the town to combat coronavirus.
The deaths in Kurichedu occurred shortly before India’s coronavirus death toll passed 35,000 on Friday, overtaking that of Italy.
Total infections in the world’s second-most populous country are now 1.63 million.
Only the US and Brazil, which both have smaller populations than India, have a higher number of total infections.
Hundreds of poor people die every year in India due to alcohol poisoning, mostly from consuming cheap hooch.
Bootleggers often add methanol – a highly toxic form of alcohol sometimes used as an anti-freeze or fuel – to their home-brew liquor to increase the alcoholic content.
The deaths in Kurichedu occurred shortly before India’s coronavirus death toll passed 35,000 on Friday, overtaking that of Italy. Pictured: A woman is tested for Covid-19 at a civil hospital in Amritsar
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