India toxic alcohol deaths jump to 156

GUWAHATI: At least 58 more workers have died in northeastern India after drinking toxic liquor, police said Sunday, taking the death toll from the latest mass alcohol poisoning beyond 156.

The deaths in Assam state came less than two weeks after tainted liquor killed around 100 people in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. At least 200 others were still receiving treatment in hospitals across Assam.

"A total of 85 people have died in Golaghat district due to consumption (of toxic alcohol)," Dhiren Hazarika, deputy commissioner of the worst affected region, told AFP. "Another 100 are undergoing treatment... The rush of new patients has (only) slowed down today afternoon," he added.

Samir Sinha, Assam's principal health secretary, told AFP 71 deaths had been confirmed in neighbouring Jorhat district by Sunday afternoon. "131 people, including 13 critical patients, are undergoing treatment at hospitals in Jorhat," he said.

"What is happening is also a kind of fear psychosis. Many locals, even if they took (illegal alcohol) four or five days back, are worried and reporting (for check-ups) at the local medical facilities," he added.

Sinha said that additional teams of medical personnel and supplies had been rushed to the affected districts. Police said people started falling sick after consuming a batch of illegally produced liquor late Thursday. The victims, who include many women, worked at local tea estates in the region.

Doctors said those rushed to hospital in critical condition were suffering from severe vomiting, extreme chest pain and breathlessness. "A total of ten people have been arrested. We have sent the samples of the liquor... to a forensic laboratory. The report is awaited," Mukesh Agarwala, additional director general of state police, told AFP on Sunday.