Suspected alcohol poisoning kills 19 in Russia | International

MOSCOW, Sept 26, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - At least 19 people have died this month of suspected alcohol poisoning in Russia's western Leningrad region, local officials said Friday. Incidents of mass deaths from drinking cheap home-made alcohol substitutes are not uncommon in Russia, which has been blighted by high levels of alcoholism for years. The regional government's press service said in a statement that "19 deaths after alcohol consumption were recorded in the Slantsy District in September." It added that eight cases had so far been "laboratory-confirmed as methanol poisoning." Investigators said they had detained a man and a woman after prosecutors opened a criminal case to probe "the poisoning of several residents of the Slantsy District with counterfeit alcohol." Earlier...