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Ecuador declares emergency due to mass alcohol poisoning
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
A state of emergency has been declared in one of the provinces of Ecuador due to mass poisoning of residents by homemade alcohol containing toxic impurities.
The state of emergency has been declared and will last for two months. For three days, the sale of all alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the province of Los Rios. Local police are conducting raids to confiscate illegally produced surrogates from the population.
To date, 23 people have fallen victim to moonshine. Most of them - 21 people - took part in one large celebration in the city of Ricaurte. Two cases of death after drinking homemade alcohol were registered in the central part of the country. According to representatives of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health, the number of victims will increase.
Police found canisters of industrial alcohol in a private home in Ricaurte. One resident was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the mass poisoning.
Those poisoned often experience blindness and kidney failure (symptoms of methyl alcohol poisoning). Death occurs from cardiac arrest. To date, 103 poisoned people have been discharged from hospitals. The total number of cases is significantly higher.
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