| My Gawd! It's an epidemic! |
 MUMBAI: Forty-five people died from drinking homemade liquor in Mumbai and at least 12 were in critical condition in hospital, a hospital official said on Tuesday. They had drunk the alcohol during the past two days at an unlicensed bar known as "Babu ka Adda" or Babu's Place, police said. "Forty-five people have succumbed to the liquor and another 83 are being treated with at least 12 to 15 in critical condition," said VB Shukla, medical superintendent at Rajawadi Hospital. "Most were admitted semi-conscious suffering from breathlessness, blackouts and internal organ pains," the official said. Another five patients were being treated at a nearby hospital.
Police arrested the alcohol vendor, a woman, who had been selling the liquor from her home for the past eight years, police said. "The cause of death is the high presence of methyl alcohol," hospital officials said. Poor Indians seeking cheap alcohol often drink illicit booze. The addition of methyl alcohol and sometimes even furniture varnish to such brews can make them extremely toxic. At least 13 people were killed in Mumbai late last week from consuming homemade liquor.
| Remind me not to go boozing in Mumbai... |
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