Chemical, Methanol Fears as Five Dead From Banana Plantation

Health officials are pointing to methanol poisoning after 69 residents of a banana plantation were hospitalized — including children as young as 10 — and five men died, though some officials are also raising suspicions over chemical use.

Kampong Cham’s Stung Trang District Referral Hospital director Yim Navy said the plantation residents began arriving to the hospital last Monday with chest pains, difficulty breathing, dizziness and headaches. Cases continued to arrive for two or three days, and serious cases were transferred to the provincial level. Two died on their way to the hospital and another died at the district hospital, Navy said.

“We’ve looked into the wine, and the methanol is so high beyond our standards. But if wine is the reason, what about the children and women who have not drunk it? Why have they experienced the same symptoms? So it is difficult to make a conclusion,” he said. “The kids are as young as 10 years old.”

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