Authorities within the Indian state of Gujarat stated on Wednesday that 38 folks have died for the reason that obvious mass poisoning on Monday.

Officials beforehand stated 51 folks have been hospitalized after ingesting tainted liquor in Gujarat’s adjoining districts of Ahmedabad and Botad.

“They had consumed methyl alcohol, which was almost undiluted, believing it to be liquor,” police official Ashok Kumar Yadav stated.

Methyl alcohol is unsafe for human consumption, and is utilized in paint thinners, pesticides and anti-freeze merchandise.

Sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Gujarat, the house state of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Gujarat’s police chief Ashish Gupta stated a number of suspected bootleggers concerned within the incident have been detained.

Illicit liquor is a large trade in India and deaths from these illegally brewed alcohol are common. Illegal distributors have been identified so as to add varied chemical compounds, together with pesticides and battery acid, to their product to increase the potency of the alcohol.

In 2020, practically 140 folks have been killed after ingesting liquor blended with methyl alcohol in India’s northern Punjab state.

ss/dj (Reuters, AP)