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IN BRIEF: What we know about numerous poisonings by alcohol drinks in Russia’s Volga area

The government ordered a recall of the product from stores

MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. About 20 people have died after being poisoned by a counterfeit alcohol drink in the Ulyanovsk, Samara and Nizhny Novgorod regions. According to preliminary data, the poisonings were caused by Samara-made Mister Cider drinks. The government ordered a recall of the product from stores. Here’s the latest details that TASS has put together about the incidents.

Casualties

- At least 16 people have died in the Ulyanovsk region, according to the latest data. Regional Governor Alexey Russkikh said that a total of 40 people were poisoned in the region, including minors.

- Two women died the Samara region. The local government said seven people sought help in hospitals. - — Two cases of poisoning were recorded in Udmurtia. A woman and a young man are in critical condition. - - The Nizhny Novgorod Region has poisoning fatalities as well, said Deputy Governor David Melik-Guseinov.

What caused the incidents

- According to law enforcement agencies, the cause of the mass poisoning was the Mister Cider drink, which was supplied by an entrepreneur from Samara.

- The Ulyanovsk Region governor said the drinks contained methanol.

Investigation

- An investigation is being conducted by the Russian Investigative Committee’s main department for investigations.

- Businessman Anar Afat ogly Guseinov has been detained in connection with the incidents, according to a law enforcement source.

Government response

- The Russian regulator of the alcohol market ordered a halt of all supplies from the company that’s suspected of producing the drink, OOO Andi.

- Some regions along the Volga started to confiscate the drink and warned people against buying.

- Russia’s sanitary watchdog ordered a recall of the drink from stores and started an investigation.

Previous such incidents

- Two previous mass poisonings with surrogate alcohol in Russia occurred in 2021: 36 people died in the Orenburg Region and 44 people died in Yekaterinburg after imbibing methanol-containing drinks.

- The largest mass poisoning with alcohol-containing products in modern Russian history occurred in late 2016 in the Irkutsk Region, where 76 people died after consuming a drink call Boyaryshnik.

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