Originally published on August 1, 2013
Seven people died and more than 40 people have been hospitalized after they mistakenly drank methanol instead of rum in Cuba.
According to Reuters, the poisoning happened in the La Lisa municipality of Havana, and all those killed were in their 40s and 50s. Local media reports that two individuals who work in the Pharmacy and Food Institute reportedly stole methanol from a local warehouse and passed it to a woman who lives in the same area as those affected. The woman sold methanol as traditional Cuban rum.
Methanol is a light, colorless and flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to drinking alcohol. Once consumed, it causes headaches, nausea, blindness and death. Methanol is commonly used as a solvent in medical laboratories and as a fuel or anti-freeze.
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