West Bengal, India suffered a tremendous loss this past week all due to moonshine.
Moonshine was the cause of over 100 deaths in the Indian State this past week. In total, around 10 villages were affected.
According to CNN, moonshine killed at least 133 people and sickened 170 others leaving authorities to raid local liquor vendors.
Reportedly, around 5 people have since been arrested in connection with the illegal liquor.
The victims reportedly were mostly manual laborers that purchased the liquor for only around 20 cents for a half liter, which is around a third of the price of legal alcohol.
According to the Associated Press, illegal liquor operations flourish in the slums of urban India and among the rural poor who can’t afford the alcohol at state-sanctioned shops.
The moonshine typically contains cheap and dangerous chemicals and often causes illness and sometimes death. In this case, the liquor is rumored to have been laced with methanol, which is used as an antifreeze—the methanol makes home-brewed liquor increased in alcohol content.
Officials say that victims started getting sick Tuesday night and by the next day, according to the L.A. Times, more than 100 patients filled area hospitals.
This event follows a hospital fire in the same state that killed 93 people, according to Reuters.
