Bootleg alcohol kills 18 in Madagascar

At least 18 people have died after drinking bootleg alcohol in a poor district of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo.

At least 18 people have died after drinking bootleg alcohol in a poor district of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo.

"Sixteen people have died in the hospital and we have 16 other patients," a superintendent at the Joseph Ravohangy-Andrianavalona Hospital said, adding that other victims died at home and the families wanted to keep the bodies.

Five casualties had been able to leave the hospital in the morning, the superintendent said.

A police source said five patients were in a coma.

READ MORE

The victims had on Tuesday and Wednesday drunk Toka Gasy moonshine in an illegal bar in the city's western Ambohimaranarina district, according to a national radio report.

AFP