At least 60 Kenyans are dead after drinking a homemade beverage that is suspected to have contained industrial alcohol, Kenya's police chief told the Associated Press.
The deaths occurred across four counties on Sunday night after they all consumed the same homemade batch of a liquor that most likely contained methanol, Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo told the AP on Tuesday. The deaths occurred in the Embu, Muranga, Kitui and Kiambu counties. Methanol, a lethal alcohol found in antifreeze, is often added to homemade liquor to increase its effects.
Homemade alcohol is common in Kenya as a cheap alternative to standardized alcohol. Those who trade liquor often add methanol, disregarding safety measures. Over 50 percent of the Kenyan population lives below the poverty line, the AP reported.
Unfortunately, deaths and injuries from consuming illicit alcohol, or moonshine, are not unheard of.
"You hear about people going blind from moonshine," Kevin Hall, operations manager for the Distilled Spirits Epicenter and Moonshine University in Kentucky, told Fox News. "That's because some were making spirits and not really knowing what they were doing."
Traditional ingredients like grain or fruit are sometimes replaced with poisonous substances, Hall said.
"Some people would use wood or some other source of material that has a high level of methanol, and then not taking a heads cut, which is the first stuff that comes off the sill. And that will make you go blind," Hall told Fox News.
Over 50 people in Libya died from alcohol poisoning last year after drinking bokha, which is distilled from figs, grapes or dates. The bhoka was most likely laced with methanol, Fox News reported.
Seven male Iranians also died and several others were blinded last year after consuming energy drinks spiked with methanol, The New York Times reported. All alcohol is forbidden in Iran.
