▲ Kampong Chi Nang Province, Cambodia
In a Cambodian village, five residents who drank alcohol suspected of containing high levels of industrial methanol were killed, and health authorities called for caution.
According to local media such as the Khmer Times and Xinhua news agency on the 30th, health officials said five people had died until the day before among the residents who shared rice wine at a funeral home in a village in central Kampong Chinang Province on the 28th.
One person died in the first place, but it is known that the number of deaths increased as four seriously injured people admitted to the hospital died.
110 people were admitted to the hospital, the news agency said.
Health ministry spokesman Or Bandin told the news agency that "residents were found to have drank contaminated alcohol."
After the accident, the spokesman said that the sale of rice-based alcoholic beverages was temporarily banned in Kampong Cinangju.
A spokesman for Orbandin said it could be life threatening to residents, and urged people not to drink alcohol that wasn't sourced from clear or proper recipe.
Locally produced rice-based sake is popular in rural areas because of its low cost, the news agency said.
However, it is known that there are also many cases of high-concentration methanol, which is unsuitable for food and beverage use, and is also dangerous.
Unlike ethanol, which is used as a raw material for alcohol, methanol is mainly used for industrial purposes, and it is a toxic substance that can lead to blindness or even death if consumed in large amounts.
In Cambodia last June, 7 people who drank alcoholic beverages containing methanol were killed and about 30 people were hospitalized, the news agency said.
(Photo = Google Map Capture, Yonhap News)