Costa Rican Officials Confirm 19 People Have Died Due To Alcohol Tainted With Methanol
Costa Rican officials are investigating 19 deaths linked to consuming alcohol tainted with methanol, the Health Ministry announced last week. Per the Associated Press, 14 men and 5 women between the ages of 32 and 72 have died since June. Seven of those deaths occurred in the San José province, which includes the city of San José, the largest in Costa Rica.
In an attempt to limit the amount of tainted alcohol in circulation, the government has seized 30,000 bottles that may contain methanol. Liquor sellers sometimes add methanol, a poisonous substance also found in solvents and antifreeze, to bottles in order to increase profit margins and/or alcohol content. Bottles seized have names like "Aguardiente Molotov" (aguardiente translates to fire water) and "Guaro Gran Apache."
Per the Health Ministry, the investigation is ongoing. Officials warned against drinking alcohol from the brands Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Barón Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuka and Molotov Aguardiente, CBS reports. An alert also instructed sellers to stop selling these brands unless they can guarantee it is the original product.
This is not the first time numerous people have died from tainted alcohol. According to the World Heath Organization, at least 21 people died in Turkey in 2005 after drinking a counterfeit brand of raki, a popular alcohol there. In 2006, 44 people died in Nicaragua after drinking a contaminated brandy-like liquor called guaron.
Symptoms of methanol poisoning include severe abdominal pain, headache, and lack of coordination in body movements.
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