Locals in Ufa fell ill due to ingesting self-made soda originating from Sochi.
In a tragic turn of events, several incidents of moonshine poisoning have been reported across Russia, with the latest deaths occurring in the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Dar'ya and Maxim Smetanin, a couple traveling home with their two children, tragically passed away in hospitals in the Voronezh region after falling into a coma following the consumption of moonshine on a train.
The poisonous ingredient behind these tragedies has been identified as methanol, a toxic industrial alcohol often used to cut or replace ethanol in illicit alcohol production. Methanol metabolizes in the body into formaldehyde and formic acid, highly poisonous substances that can cause severe symptoms including blindness, organ failure, and even death.
Two women from the Chelyabinsk region also fell victim to the moonshine. One of them had brought it back as a gift from the sea. The Smetanin's daughters were by their side during their hospitalization.
Preliminary data shows that at least 15 people have been poisoned by alcohol from this market. Two men from Ufa, residents of Russia, were hospitalized after consuming the moonshine from the Sochi market. One of the men, a 60-year-old, is in critical condition, while the other is recovering after being poisoned and has been transferred to the toxicological department.
The deadly moonshine poisoning incident in Sochi has led to the closure of the Cossack Market in Adler. Police have detained two vendors who were producing and selling the alcohol at the market.
This is not the first time such a tragedy has occurred. A resident of Sochi, Allsevolod Orlov, reported the first deaths from the moonshine, which claimed the lives of his grandmother, uncle, and mother at a tourist base in Adler. One woman from this family who also drank the poison has survived and is recovering.
Despite the ongoing investigation, no detailed official public reports or investigation results specifying the origin or precise ingredient sourcing of these Sochi moonshine batches are available at this time. The vendors were making the drinks themselves using extracts, spirits, and water.
As the investigation continues, authorities urge the public to exercise extreme caution when consuming alcohol, especially homemade varieties, and to report any suspicious activities or symptoms to the local authorities. This tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of the lethal nature of methanol-contaminated moonshine.
- The poisoning incidents in Russia, causing several deaths and hospitalizations, have been linked to methanol, a toxic chemical often used in illicit alcohol production like the moonshine involved in this health-and-wellness and general-news crisis.
- Furthermore, the deadly moonshine-induced medical-conditions, such as organ failure and even death, are not exclusive to the victims from Komsomolsk-on-Amur or the Smetanin family; two women from the Chelyabinsk region and two men from Ufa have also fallen victim to this crisis.
- In the face of such tragedies, crime-and-justice authorities have stepped in to close dangerous markets like the Cossack Market in Adler, where poisonous moonshine has been produced and sold, and have detained the responsible vendors in an effort to ensure public health-and-wellness and safety.
