MOSCOW (Reuters) – Thirty people have died in western Russia in the last few days after drinking adulterated cider and dozens more have fallen ill, local officials said on Tuesday.
The health department of Ulyanovsk region, where the first cases were reported, said 20 people had died there after drinking the cider, branded as “Mister Cider”. Authorities in Samara, Nizhny Novgorod and Udmurtia said a total of 10 people had also died in their regions.
Dozens more people were reported to be sick in several regions after consuming the cider.
Authorities have detained one person on suspicion of causing death by negligence and ordered the drink to be withdrawn from sale.
Local media reported that the cider contained lethal amounts of methanol, also known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol and much more toxic than the ethanol found in regular alcoholic drinks.
Russia tightened controls on the production and sale of alcohol after 77 people died drinking cheap moonshine in Siberia in 2016, but the consumption of homemade alcohol remains a problem.
Twenty-nine people died in a single incident in 2021 after consuming locally produced spirits containing methanol.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
