Costa Rica

Death Toll From Tainted Liquor in Costa Rica Rises to 25

The deaths are attributed to methanol poisoning

Twenty-five people have died and dozens more have been hospitalized after drinking tainted liquor in Costa Rica, NBC News reported, citing health officials.

The announcement Monday came nearly a month after the country’s health ministry first put the alcohol-related death toll at 19 and attributed the deaths to methanol poisoning.

Liquor producers sometimes use the potentially toxic liquid to increase profit margins and raise alcohol content, according to the Associated Press.

In a news release, Costa Rica’s Health Ministry said it had seized more than 55,000 bottles of liquor and shuttered 10 supermarkets and other places in the country’s capital, San José, and in the city of Alajuela, that sold the tainted alcohol.

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