Six Die After Consuming Liquor

Malang, E Java (Antara) - Six residents of the Malang district in East Java died after drinking liquor suspected of being adulterated in a party in Lawang on Monday. Lawang police sector chief Commissioner Gatot Setiawan said here on Wednesday 15 people binge drank and six of them had died. "People took the victims to a hospital but six of them could not be saved. Initially, only three people died but today three more died, raising the total deaths to six," he added. The other victims, meanwhile, are currently being treated in the hospital. He said the incident was first reported on Tuesday evening. "We are still investigating the incident to find the real cause of their death. Based on initial investigations, they had died because of the adulterated drinks," he remarked. The chief of the Lawang regional hospital, where the victims are being treated, Dr. Nisa Arifani said many of the victims were suffering from cramps and vomiting when they were first admitted to the hospital, and a few could not see while the others found it difficult to see. "Their complaints were similar, namely poisoning from alcohol," she said. She added that the victims were taken to the hospital one by one and their conditions were already weak when they were first admitted at the hospital, although they were still conscious. "Some of the victims were still being treated in the hospital, but some were taken to other hospitals, namely the RSSA and the RS Panti Nirmala in the city of Malang," she said. (*) Reporting by Endang Sukarelawati