At least 34 people have died and dozens were taken to hospital after drinking illegally brewed alcohol in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
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The state's chief minister, MK Stalin, said the 34 died after consuming alcohol that was tainted with methanol, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
The incident occurred in the state's Kallakurichi district, where more than 100 people were being treated in various hospitals, top district official MS Prasanth said.
He said the number of those who were in critical condition kept changing, suggesting the death toll could rise.
Ambulances, doctors and specialists from nearby areas were deployed to the district.
Government officials earlier said several people who were vomiting and had stomach pain were admitted to hospitals on Wednesday, triggering a police investigation.
Later that day, Stalin, the chief minister, said in a post on social media platform X that those involved in the crime have been arrested, and action has also been taken against officials who failed to prevent it.
"Such crimes that ruin the society will be suppressed with an iron fist," he said.
Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in India, where the poor cannot afford licensed brands from government-run shops.
The illicit alcohol, which is often spiked with chemicals such as pesticides to increase potency, has also become a hugely profitable industry as bootleggers pay no taxes and sell enormous quantities of their product to the poor at a cheap rate.
In 2022, more than 30 people died in eastern India's Bihar state after allegedly drinking tainted alcohol sold without authorisation.
Earlier that same year, at least 28 died from drinking altered alcohol in Gujarat state.
In 2020, at least 120 people died after drinking tainted alcohol in India's northern Punjab state.
Australian Associated Press
