49 dead in Siberia after drinking toxic bath essence

MOSCOW: A Russian city declared a state of emergency Monday after 49 people seeking cheap alcohol died after drinking bath essence containing methanol, a toxic substance used in anti-freeze.

The country's Investigative Committee, a powerful panel of inquiry, has launched a probe into the deaths in the Siberian city of Irkutsk caused by drinking the liquid, labelled as hawthornscented bath essence, and has detained several people.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the deaths a ‘tragedy' that required ‘very close attention.'

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered his cabinet to ‘sort out' the problem of selling such alcoholic products not intended for drinking – often labelled as cosmetics – to impoverished alcoholics.

Medvedev called their widespread sale through vending machines, which takes place in cities including Moscow, “an absolute disgrace”.

Dozens of people were taken to hospital in the Siberian city of Irkutsk about 4,200 kilometres from Moscow after consuming the toxic substance, investigators said. An employee of the local prosecutor's office Alexander Semyonov told Russian agencies that 57 people were known to have consumed the liquid, 49 of whom have died, while the others were in a serious condition.

The official death toll grew by 20 people over the course of a few hours on Monday. — AFP