Contaminated Beer Kills 69 People In Mozambique [Updated]

The count of people who ingested fatal poisoned beer at a funeral has risen to 69 people. The last time the Inquisitr reported on this, the number of individuals who died as a result of the poisonous beer was close to 60.

The traditional beer that was prepared is called Pombe. It’s made with corn flour or millet, and is served at different events. This is a traditional beer from Mozambique.

The beer in question was laced with crocodile poison. According to the Huffington Post, some — but not all — who attended the funeral in Mozambique and who decided to drink the beer suffered fatal consequences. Oddly enough, those who had tasted the beer in the morning didn’t report any signs of illness. It’s believed that the beer was poisoned when the funeral attendees went to the cemetery. When they returned, the contaminated beer was served.

When the story was first reported, of the whole funeral service, 56 people were confirmed dead and another 49 people were sent to the hospital in Songo and Chitima.

Now, according to ABC News, it’s believed that approximately 196 people were sent to the hospital in the Chitima district. According to the province’s Health, Women, and Social Welfare Director Paula Bernardo, the amount of people with the same symptoms tipped them off.

“People flocked to the hospital, suffering from diarrhea and muscle pain. Then bodies from various neighborhoods were brought to the hospital, and this alerted us.”

As of right now, no one knows how the crocodile poison contaminated the beer, but it obviously got into the wrong hands. After a croc is killed, the bile, stored in the gallbladder, needs to be removed and buried, because it can be used as poison.

According to Radio Mozambique, “Police have no leads yet and are investigating the incident, and reinforcements have been sent to the affected districts.” Authorities believe the greenish-brown liquid was added into the mixture, which has resulted in many deaths in South Africa.

The mother of the deceased child, whose funeral it was, was one of the victims that ingested the poisonous beer and died as a result. It’s said that she helped brew the beer at the funeral.

According to the health director Carle Mosse, the hospital is currently testing both the blood and samples for further information on the poisonous substance.

“We are waiting for the results of the tests of the samples being done at Maputo Central Hospital so that we can identify the type of the product put into the drink.”

[Image via Naypong / Shutterstock]