2 Cambodians die, 48 fall ill after drinking suspected tainted wine

[geovalin]

PHNOM PENH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Two villagers had died and 48 others had been hospitalized in northeast Cambodia's Kratie province after drinking rice wine, which was suspicious of containing high levels of methanol, a local official said Saturday.

 

"One woman died on Thursday and the other on Friday, as 48 others had been admitted to the Snuol district referral hospital," Kong Kimny, governor of Snuol district, told Xinhua.

 

"According to a preliminary inquiry, the victims had consumed rice wine during a funeral before falling ill and dying," he said. The ill-fated villagers had the same symptoms: dizziness, eye irritation, cough, diarrhea, fatigue, and breathing difficulty, he said, adding that 27 of them had recovered and left the hospital on Saturday morning.

 

Homemade rice wine is popular in rural areas in this Southeast Asian country due to its cheap price. In May, methanol-laced rice wine and contaminated water also killed 13 people and sickened nearly 300 others in Kratie province's Chitborey district. 

 

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/14/c_137323845.htm

[phycokiller]

usually in these cases they wait a few weeks before suddenly discovering it wasnt the wine but some kind of industrial waste somewhere nearby that causes these tragedies 

 

Edited July 15, 2018 by phycokiller

[KKr]

Homemade (Rice) Wine if fermented and not distilled, is unlikely to contain Methanol.
(At least that was the case when I had that hobby.)
So my guess it that either it was rice spirit, done at wrong temperature and low on Ethanol but high on "spirituality",
or could be rice "juice", maybe partly fermented, but presented with a good shot of chemicals to spice it up as time was more pressing then quality concerns.
Sad for the people that got poisoned,
and that were likely looking to send off the spirit of the deceased on a good journey.