Illegal liquor kills at least 37 in Bombay

Illicit liquor sold in a Bombay suburb over the weekend has killed 37 people, and victims were still staggering into local hospitals on Tuesday, officials said.

The first victims appeared early on Monday morning, complaining of dizziness and vomiting after drinking at an illicit bar in a slum near Vikhroli, they said. Thirty-seven of the 128 men admitted to a local hospital had since died.

"Eight victims were brought in dead, and we still have more people coming in," said V.B. Shukla, medical superintendent of Rajawadi Hospital in Vikhroli.

All the men at Rajawadi were from a neighbouring slum, and victims were also taken to other hospitals, Shukla said. The exact composition of the liquor was unclear, but doctors suspect methyl alcohol and deadly chemicals were mixed in, he added.

Last week, 18 people died in a similar incident in Bombay, where cases of illness from illegal liquor are fairly common. Poor daily wage earners are usually the victims since the liquor, sold in makeshift bars among the shanties that make up some of Asia's largest slums, is far cheaper than branded liquor. "We have seen a few cases during the year, but this is the first time that we are seeing such a big number," Shukla said.

- REUTERS