Mexico: at least 35 people die in mass bad-alcohol poisoning
At least 35 people have died in Mexico after drinking methanol, the latest in a series of mass bad-alcohol poisonings since the country banned beer sales and many towns banned the sale of liquor.
At least 20 people died of presumed methanol poisoning in the town of Chiconcuautla in the central state of Puebla. State authorities said they had closed the stores where the suspect liquor had been sold, and seized about 50 gallons (200 liters) of it.
And in Morelos state, south of Mexico City, inspectors seized four fivegallon (20-liter) jugs of unlabeled alcohol that was believed to be the cause of 15 poisoning deaths in the hamlet of Telixtac. The dead were 14 men and one woman.
In late April, 25 people died in the state of Jalisco after drinking a cheap brand of cane alcohol known as “El Chorrito”. And local media reported another seven people died of methanol poisoning recently in the Yucatán village of Acanceh, but authorities did not immediately respond to requests for information to confirm that incident.
It is unclear if the poisonings are related to the new coronavirus lockdowns. Authorities have not said whether people drank the adulterated booze because legitimate liquor was unavailable or whether the economic effects of the lockdown have forced people to turn to cheaper bootleg versions.
Beer production in Mexico was halted more than a month ago as health officials declared brewing a “non-essential” activity.
Methanol is a poisonous cousin of the ethanol alcohol present in normal liquors and cannot be smelled or tasted in drinks. It causes delayed organ and brain damage, and its symptoms include chest pain, nausea, hyperventilation, blindness and even coma.