Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Iranian police dispose of confiscated alcohol (file image)

At least 42 people have died after drinking contaminated bootleg alcohol in Iran, a government spokesman said.

Health ministry spokesman Iraj Harirchi said 16 people had gone blind and 170 had undergone dialysis after trying the tainted drink.

In the past three weeks, at least 460 people across five provinces have been hospitalised, with the youngest victim a 19-year-old woman.

Alcohol is illegal in Iran but bootleg booze is widespread.

However, ethanol is sometimes reportedly replaced with toxic methanol in the contaminated drink.

Police in the southern city of Bandar Abbas last week arrested a couple for allegedly producing home-made alcohol.

BBC Persian's Rana Rahimpour says it is not unusual for tainted alcohol to cause injuries or deaths in Iran, but what is surprising is the significant numbers of deaths and the spread of the problem to a number of provinces.

Analysts spoken to by the BBC's Persian service believe the economic impact of the US pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal may be playing a part.

With the collapse in the value of the Iranian currency against the dollar, people may be turning to cheap, homemade alcohol over expensive foreign imports.

Iranian anti-drugs officials believe that every year 80 million litres of alcohol worth $730 million (£559m) is smuggled into Iran.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Iran gripped by despair as country faces economic turmoil, drought

Iranian Muslims have been barred from drinking alcohol since the country's revolution in 1979.

Article 265 of Iran's Islamic penal code states that the punishment for consumption of alcohol by a Muslim is 80 lashes.

There is however an exemption for non-Muslim citizens to produce alcohol for their own consumption or for religious purposes, like the Eucharist.

More on life in Iran:</s>Iran says 31 people have died from drinking tainted alcohol

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's state-run IRNA news agency says 31 people have died from drinking tainted alcohol across the country.

The report comes after 11 were said last week to have died of liquor poisoning in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. Police arrested a husband and wife, along with their dealer, in that case.

According to IRNA, of 371 people who suffered alcohol poisoning, 173 are hospitalized.

The report says 17 of the casualties died in southern Hormozgan province, where Bandar Abbas is the capital, and 14 in four other provinces.

IRNA says that as the nation's currency plummets against the dollar, and the price of liquor rises, consumers increasingly turn to home-made alcohol.

In Iran, drinking alcohol is considered sinful and punishable by flogging and cash fines under Islamic law.</s>By The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says 31 people have died from drinking tainted alcohol across the country. The report comes after 11 were said last week to have died of liquor…

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency says 31 people have died from drinking tainted alcohol across the country.

The report comes after 11 were said last week to have died of liquor poisoning in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. Police arrested a husband and wife, along with their dealer, in that case.

According to IRNA, of 371 people who suffered alcohol poisoning, 173 are hospitalized.

The report says 17 of the casualties died in southern Hormozgan province, where Bandar Abbas is the capital, and 14 in four other provinces.

IRNA says that as the nation’s currency plummets against the dollar, and the price of liquor rises, consumers increasingly turn to home-made alcohol.

In Iran, drinking alcohol is considered sinful and punishable by flogging and cash fines under Islamic law.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>By The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media say 11 people have died after drinking tainted homemade alcohol in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas. The state TV quoted Hossein Davoudi, head of the Medical School…

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media say 11 people have died after drinking tainted homemade alcohol in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas.

The state TV quoted Hossein Davoudi, head of the Medical School in Hormozgan province, where Bandar Abbas is the capital, as saying that 123 people came to hospital with alcohol poisoning.

The semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Fatemeh Norouzian, a university official, as saying they were between 17 and 50 years of age. She says 52 of those hospitalized are on dialysis.

Bandar Abbas’ police chief, Esmail Mashayekh, told ISNA that a man and his wife who made the liquor and their main dealer have been arrested.

Alcohol sale and consumption is banned in the conservative Muslim country, considered sinful and punishable by flogging and cash fines under Islamic law.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 27 people have died and more than 300 poisoned after drinking bootleg alcohol in Iran, the state emergency services said on Sunday, in one of the worst such cases in the country where drinking is a crime.

Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the state emergency services, said some 176 people were still hospitalized across five provinces, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported.

Despite a ban on alcohol for Iran’s majority Muslims and frequent police raids, bootleg alcohol is widely available.</s>By The Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media are reporting that at least three men have died after drinking bootleg alcohol in northern Iran. The Wednesday report by the semi-official Fars news agency says 14 others have…

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian media are reporting that at least three men have died after drinking bootleg alcohol in northern Iran.

The Wednesday report by the semi-official Fars news agency says 14 others have been hospitalized in serious condition.

Reza Shakarami, prosecutor in the city of Karaj, said the poisonings, which happened Tuesday, are under investigation.

Occasionally, Iranian media report on deaths caused by bootleg alcoholic beverages. In 2017, alcohol poisoning killed three and hospitalized 48 in southern Iran.

Since 2014, Iran has opened scores of alcohol rehabilitation centers.

Homemade brews are available cheaply on the black market even though drinking alcohol is illegal in Iran and considered sinful and punishable by flogging and cash fines under Islamic law.

Copyright © 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.</s>At least 13 people died in Iran after drinking poisonous alcohol over the past 48 hours, Iran’s Emergency Department said Saturday.

Pir Hossein Kolivand, the department head, said nine of the victims were from the southern province of Hormuzgan, two from the central province of Alborz and two others from North Khorasan Province, Xinhua reported.

According to the latest figures, 60 other people are currently undergoing dialysis therapy for kidney problems after drinking, Kolivand told IRNA.

Drinking alcohol is banned in Iran and punishable by floggings and cash fines.

However, some Iranians drink homemade alcoholic beverages available at low prices.</s>The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on September 30, 2018 3:09 PM

DUBAI (Reuters) - At least 27 people have died and more than 300 poisoned after drinking bootleg alcohol in Iran, the state emergency services said on Sunday, in one of the worst such cases in the country where drinking is a crime. Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the state emergency services, said some 176 people were still hospitalised across five provinces, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported. Despite a ban on alcohol for Iran's majority Muslims and frequent police raids, bootleg alcohol is widely available. Form for signing up for free newsletter. Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox.</s>TEHRAN: At least 22 people have died in Iran in three separate incidents of poisoning by adulterated bootleg alcohol, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported on Saturday.

Despite tough penalties in force for alcohol consumption since the Islamic revolution of 1979, the consumption of smuggled or bootleg liquor remains widespread.

Cheap moonshine is sometimes adulterated with toxic methanol in place of ethanol, the alcohol found in properly distilled spirits.

The largest number of deaths was reported in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, where 16 people died according to ISNA.

“The number of people hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning has reached 168 so far,” it quoted provincial medical school spokeswoman Fatemeh Norouzian as saying.

“Sixteen of them unfortunately lost their lives and eight are in critical condition.”

Bandar Abbas police chief, Esmail Mashayekh, told ISNA that a married couple had been arrested on suspicion of producing the liquor while the suspected distributor was also detained.

ISNA reported three deaths in a separate incident in the northern province of Alborz.

“Twenty-five people have been poisoned in the last 72 hours, three of whom have already died,” it quoted provincial emergency medical services chief Mehrdad Babayi as saying.

Babayi said 17 people remained in hospital, some of whom were not out of danger.

In North Khorasan province in the northeast, 25 people were treated for poisoning in the past 10 days of whom three died, police chief Alireza Mazaheri told the official IRNA news agency.

Khorasan police raided an underground distillery suspected of producing the adulterated liquor and made 31 arrests on Friday night, IRNA reported.

Those who break Iran’s alcohol laws can be fined, lashed or jailed.

Only members of state-recognised religious minorities have the right to produce or purchase alcoholic drinks.</s>According to the latest figures, 60 other people were undergoing dialysis therapy for kidney problems after drinking, Kolivand told IRNA

At least 13 people died in Iran after drinking poisonous alcohol over the past 48 hours, Iran's Emergency Department said on Saturday.

Pir Hossein Kolivand, the department head, said nine of the victims were from Hormuzgan province, two from Alborz province and two others from North Khorasan province, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the latest figures, 60 other people were undergoing dialysis therapy for kidney problems after drinking, Kolivand told IRNA.

Drinking alcohol is banned in Iran and punishable by floggings and cash fines. However, some Iranians drink homemade alcoholic beverages available at low prices.

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At least 42 people in Iran die after drinking tainted homemade alcohol. A further 460 are hospitalized, including 16 that had gone blind and 170 that had undergone dialysis.