Four people died of methanol poisoning as New Year celebrations went wrong on a small island in the Kuril Archipelago, Russia's chief doctor said on Wednesday.
On December 31, a total of 23 people gathered for New Year party on the Tanfilyev Island in the disputed South Kurils. The 15-square-km island, though officially listed as uninhabited, has a population of several dozens, mainly border guards and shift workers of a local fish-processing facility.
Three merrymakers died almost immediately after drinking unidentified liquid from a canister which one of them found on the shore and brought to the party. 15 more were diagnosed with methanol poisoning and were flown to hospital by a rescue helicopter.
"One more person died in intensive care, others have been discharged from hospital by now," Russia's chief doctor Gennady Onishchenko said.
Methanol, also known as wood alcohol, has a smell very similar to drinking alcohol. It is used as a solvent and to produce paint, glass cleaners and antifreezes. Methanol is highly toxic and can cause serious health damage such as blindness, liver failure, kidney failure and sometimes death. RIA Novosti
