DELHI – At least 99 people have died and more than 100 are being treated in hospital after drinking toxic bootleg alcohol in north-eastern India, officials say.
Several women are among the victims, who all worked on tea plantations in Assam state.
The deaths come days after tainted spirits killed about 100 people in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
An inquiry has been ordered into the tragedy.
The first victims died on Thursday, the administrator of the Golaghat district in Assam, Dhiren Hazarika, is quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The victims all worked in tea plantations in Golaghat and Jorhat districts.
Doctors at the hospitals where the victims are being treated are baffled by the ingredients used in the illegal alcohol, which is causing organ failure.
An expert team from the city of Guwahati was on its way to analyse the mixture and investigate its contents. (BBC)
