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India Bootleg Liquor Death Toll Climbs

by VOA News

   Officials in northeastern India say the death toll for people who drank
   tainted bootleg liquor has climbed to at least 140.

   Authorities say another 200 people who drank the moonshine are
   hospitalized, some of them in critical condition.

   "The people came to the hospital with severe vomiting, extreme chest
   pain and breathlessness," Dr. Ratul Bordoloi told AFP, the French news
   agency.

   The situation has overwhelmed local hospitals.

   "Doctors from nearby districts and other medical colleges have been
   rushed in to deal with the crisis," Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa
   Sarma told Reuters news agency.

   The victims, many of them women, are mainly tea plantation workers,
   officials say.

   Police have initiated an investigation and several people have been
   arrested.

   Hundreds of people die yearly in India from drinking cheap,
   illegally-produced brew.

   Less than two weeks ago, more than 100 people died in northern India
   from drinking tainted alcohol.