The country’s Investigative Committee, a powerful panel of inquiry, has launched a probe into the deaths in the Siberian city of Irkutsk caused by drinking the liquid, labeled as hawthorn-scented bath essence, and has detained several people. Poisonings with surrogate alcohol are a regular occurrence in Russia, but the Irkutsk case was one of the deadliest such incidents in years. While local officials in Irkutsk introduced a state of emergency in a desperate bid to prevent more deaths, and went house—to—house in search for more victims, Russia’s top investigative agency opened a probe into the incident and arrested several people suspected of involvement in the sales of the lotion. He said that nine others remained hospitalized in grave condition, and officials were checking apartments and other locations in search for more victims. President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the mass poisoning as a “terrible tragedy,” adding that the president was being briefed about the situation. Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a government meeting he wanted to look at banning products that could cause so many deaths and that the country’s criminal code was being amended to toughen the punishment for people caught selling them.
At least 49 people die in Irkutsk, Russia after consuming hawthorn-scented bath essence as if it were alcohol. The product has been found to contain methanol.