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full screen A man stands next to piles of firewood laid out for a mass cremation of people who died from the poisonous arrack spirit in Kallakurichi, Tamil Nadu state. The picture was taken last Thursday. Photo: R. Parthibhan/AP/TT
More people have died after drinking home-made and toxic liquor in southern India earlier this week.
The arrack drink began to be consumed on Tuesday and within a few hours 37 people had died. In total, around a hundred people were taken to hospital, several after losing their sight. The death toll has since risen to 53, Indian media reports.
A local politician in the area in the state of Tamil Nadu told The Indian Express newspaper that poor workers usually buy the home-burnt liquor in plastic bags for the equivalent of less than ten kroner, before going to their jobs.
Alcohol is banned in some states in India and regulated differently in others. In Tamil Nadu there is a state monopoly on alcohol sales, but it is described as significantly more expensive there than on the black market.