125 die from bootleg liquor

Press, 8 March 1989, Page 8

125 die from bootleg liquor

NZPA-Reuter Baroda Lethal bootleg liquor has killed at least 125 people in western India and scores more were battling for life, hospital officials said yesterday. More than 150 people were undergoing emergency treatment at the Baroda city hospital in the Gujarat state after drinking illegal liquor contain-

ing methyl alcohol. Post-mortems were being carried out in the hospital yard due to lack of space inside, and a charitable trust offered free firewood for cremations. Doctors said the death toll was likely to rise because the methyl alcohol had extensively damaged the brain, vision

and respiratory system of the surviving patients.

“I didn’t know what hit me,” said one patient writhing in agony more than 24 hours after drinking the poisonous spirits. The police said more than 500 people had drunk the killer brew. Police vans toured affected areas on Sunday urging anyone who had

consumed the liquor to seek help.

Alcohol is banned in Gujarat state in accordance with the teachings of its best-known son, Mahatma Gandhi. Most of the victims were labourers and city employees living in a Baroda slum who bought the brew after getting paid on Saturday.