At least 12 people have died and there are fears the death toll could rise after dangerous fake alcohol was sold at a Russian market.
The dodgy alcohol was sold at a market in Sochi, Vladimir Putin’s favourite holiday resort on the Black Sea and host of the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Three members of a family of four are among the dead after drinking the alcohol, bought from a market known as Bazar or Kazachiy.
The victims, who suffered methanol poisoning, reportedly went blind, became unable to stand or speak, and eventually lost consciousness before their deaths.
Two people have since been detained on suspicion of distributing fake alcohol following a raid of the market stall where the fake alcohol is believed to have been sold.
In the meantime, the Russian government has issued a warning not to drink ‘alcohol-containing products of unknown origin’.
Among the dead are Maxim Smetanin, 37, and his wife Darya, 35, who bought the alcohol while holidaying in Sochi.
Darya reportedly ‘went blind and then lost consciousness’ after having sipped at the fake grappa during their long-distance train journey home.
She was rushed from the train to hospital in Russia’s Voronezh region but died soon afterwards.
While her husband felt fine initially, he died not long after his wife having ‘gone blind, his kidneys collapsed and he fell into a coma’.
At first, when the family of four all felt unwell after drinking the dodgy alcohol, they assumed they had a hangover.
‘By the evening, they were unable to stand or speak, and began losing consciousness,’ local reports said.
‘Paramedics took all four to hospital, but only one could be saved.’
The family have not yet been named but the three who died have been confirmed as a 42-year-old man and two women aged 57 and 69.
Another tourist went blind and died from kidney failure after drinking the concoction, and two other female tourists, from Chelyabinsk, died after returning to their home city from their trip to Sochi.
Two people, named as Olesya, 31, and Eteri, 71, have been detained on suspicion of distributing the fake alcohol, which was called ‘chacha’.
Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Maj-Gen Irina Volk said: ‘Preliminary findings indicate that the detainees were selling homemade alcoholic beverages at the local Kazachiy market.
‘Efforts are currently underway to identify the producer of the life-threatening alcohol and others involved in the illegal activity.’
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