List of methanol poisoning incidents
Further material can also be found at https://methanolpoisoning.msf.org On May 11, 2000, Rodney Marks unexpectedly became unwell while walking between the remote observatory and the base of Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station.
[12][13] In El Salvador, as many as 122 people died in 2000 as a result of drinking low quality liquors sold in unauthorized shops that were found to be adulterated with methanol.
The root cause was believed to be an act of terrorism, possibly a social cleansing campaign targeted against alcoholics,[15] as the offending distilleries were not found to be responsible for the methanol contents that were present in the affected liquors.
[17] India has a thriving moonshine industry, and methanol-tainted batches have killed over 2,000 people in the last 3 decades, including: Arak that has been laced has contributed to deaths due to methanol toxicity.
[30] Two men were killed in a methanol poisoning incident near to Burtonport, County Donegal, Republic of Ireland in 2014 after drinking what was claimed to be poitín (an Irish moonshine made from potatoes).
[32][33] In 2017 a person was severely poisoned after buying "vodka" from an unlicensed seller in the Ballymun area of Dublin; the bottle had been refilled with a liquid containing methanol.
[38] 2024 Laos methanol poisoning: In November 2024, six foreign tourists, including two Australian teenagers, two Danish women, one British lawyer, and one American tourist, died of suspected methanol poisoning after consuming laced alcohol at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in the town of Vang Vieng, Laos.
Methanol poisoning, caused by improperly distilled alcohol, can lead to severe health complications, including blindness and death.
[39] The incident led to the arrest of eleven staff members from the hostel and prompted an investigation by Laotian authorities to identify the source of the contamination.
[40] Governments, including Australia, updated their travel advisories, warning citizens about the dangers of unregulated local alcohol in Southeast Asia.
[46] Cases of toxic alcohol poisoning have been reported in Selangor, the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, Perak and Negeri Sembilan.
[45] Around 30 people including three Indian nationals, believed to be responsible for the distribution of cheap counterfeit liquor to retailers around Selayang and Desa Jaya which led to the methanol poisoning incident have been arrested.
The case started on November 29 when the residents from Calamba, Laguna drank lambanog and began to experience symptoms such as stomach cramps, resulting in hospital admission; they subsequently died.
[59] In December 2019, at least 23 people died while around 300 were hospitalized after drinking methanol-laced palm liquor, locally known as lambanog, in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon.
[73][74] In April 2010, 80 people died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome after drinking waragi adulterated with a high amount of methanol over a three-week period in Kabale District.
[83][84][85] Many of the deaths were blamed on the reluctance of people to openly admit their relatives had been drinking it, allowing the abuse of the substance to continue.
[85] In December 1963, a rash of 31 deaths in Philadelphia's homeless population was traced to a local store that knowingly sold Sterno to people for them to consume and get drunk.
[86] In January 2016, consumption of a mixture of Mountain Dew and methanol, referred to as Dewshine, resulted in the reported deaths of two Tennessee high school students.
