Illicit Alcohol Kills 80 in Eastern India

At least 80 people have died after consuming illegal alcohol in India''s eastern state of West Bengal, news reports said Thursday.
All the victims, mostly wage labourers, rickshaw pullers and street hawkers, drank home-made alcohol sold near a railway station in the district of South 24 Parganas late Tuesday, NDTV news channel reported.

Most were from to Sangrampur village, 40 kilometres south of state capital Kolkata.

Hospitals in the area have been admitting a steady stream of people with symptoms of poisoning since Wednesday morning. At least 80 people were being treated and the condition of some were critical, NDTV reported.

Four people have been arrested in connection with the tragedy. Angry crowds demolished a moonshine still in the region and several local shebeens soon after the first victims fell ill on Wednesday, NDTV said.

Cheap, illegal liquor often contains adulterations such as methyl alcohol, which can cause blindness and death. A total of 1,202 people died of consuming risky alcohol in the country in 2010, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.
Source: BNA