Close to 60 people are dead after drinking poisoned beer at a funeral in Mozambique. The traditional beer caused close to 200 other people to end up hospitalized or at least visit one due to the issue. It is believed that the beer was laced with crocodile poison.
The Huffington Post reported that those who drank the contaminated beer were attending a funeral in the South African country of Mozambique.
As of Monday morning, there were 56 confirmed deaths due to the beer contaminated with crocodile poison. An additional 49 people were admitted to hospitals in both the Songo and Chitima districts in the northeastern province.
Authorities say 146 more people ended up going to hospitals to be examined and checked out after knowing of the poisoning. This is according to Alex Albertini, the district health official in Mozambique.
Different reports are stating the death toll is rising, as RT.com is saying that 69 are now dead .
Paula Bernardo, the director for Health, Women, and Social Action, knows that the death toll could continue to rise as more symptoms become known.
“As we prepared to determine the cause of death of people we began to receive a lot of people with diarrhea and other muscle aches. After that we began to receive dead bodies from several neighborhoods.”
According to the Daily Mail , the beer is called Pombe , which is a traditional beer from Mozambique. It is made from millet or corn flour, and usually consumed at all kinds of different events.
Carle Mosse, the provincial health director, spoke with Mozambique Radio regarding the situation, and she said that both blood and beer samples were sent to be tested in the capital. Unfortunately, sent further away due to resources not being available.
“We don’t have the capacity to test the samples.”
The situation gets a bit weirder as mourners at the funeral who drank the beer in the morning didn’t get sick. They reported no signs of illness or feeling bad. It was all of those who drank the beer in the afternoon that suffered illness and even death.
Police are investigating the situation, and with that information, they now believe that the beer was intentionally poisoned while funeral goers were at the cemetery. Upon returning from there, they drank the beer and got sick.
The woman who brewed the beer is among those who died due to the poisoned beer.
Police have also started collecting donations and food items for the families who have been affected by sickness or death. Mozambique is dealing with a horrible tragedy right now, and the poisoned beer was something that no one expected.
[Image via The Telegraph]
