1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Eleven dead after drinking poisonous wine

December 23, 2019

Hundreds of Filipino revellers were rushed to hospitals after consuming the traditional holiday drink called lambanog. Some were comatose, while others complained of stomach aches, vomiting and numbness.

Coconut sap being poured to make Lambanog
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Directo

Christmas celebrations turned sour when 11 people died and over 300 were hospitalized in the Philippines after drinking a batch of poisonous coconut wine, local police said on Monday.

Holiday revelers in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon, south of Manila, fell ill after drinking a wine called lambanog, a traditional Filipino alcoholic drink that is made from coconut sap. It generally has a high alcohol content of around 40%, and is often distilled in informal and unsanitary environments.

Come with plastic waste, go home with rice

02:30

This browser does not support the video element.

Those who consumed the drink were rushed to hospitals with symptoms including stomach aches, vomiting and numbness, while some collapsed and lost consciousness, according to the police report. Two were reportedly comatose before arriving at the hospital for treatment.

Read moreToxic moonshine kills scores of slum dwellers in India's Mumbai

The deaths occurred in Rizal, a small municipality of Laguna province, between Thursday and Sunday. Rizal's mayor, Vener Munoz, told local media that two people who were in critical condition were on the mend, and that the wine had been produced there.

"All had a sad history of lambanog ingestion," Reuters quoted the local police department as saying. "Some bought for leisure drinking and birthday party, while others were donated by local officials during their Christmas party."

Read moreScores dead from tainted alcohol in Indonesia

Last year, more than 10 people died after consuming the same drink. Jose Jonas Del Rosario, a doctor and spokesman for Manila's Philippine General Hospital, told AFP that methanol, a chemical that can cause blindness and death, is one of the byproducts of coconut wine fermentation.

Read moreDozens die in Russia after drinking bath oil

Some lambanog producers choose to keep the high levels of methanol because it allows for a larger production volume and is thus more profitable, he added.

Every evening, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.

lc/mm (Reuters, afp, dpa)

 

Skip next section Explore more
Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW