67 die from poisoned brew in Mozambique

The number of people who died after drinking a local alcoholic brew called "phombe" rose to 67 on Monday morning in Tete province, western Mozambique, medical sources said.

The number may increase as more than 100 people are still under medical care in hospital, the sources said.

"Phombe" is a popular local brew made up from maize grains and water.

Local source describe the situation as very sad with bodies spread all over the rural hospital in Cahora Bassa as the morgue has the capacity of two bodies and even then the cold system is not working properly.

A team of medical experts, including representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), are now working on the site to assist the local authorities and families and help to find out the exact causes of the deaths.

Speaking to journalists Monday morning, the provincial health director in Tete, Carla Mosse, said that the causes are not yet known but clarified that the tragedy started during the early hours of Saturday after a burial ceremony.

However, Mosse said that there are suspicions that the brew was poisoned with crocodile bile. Poisoning using bile or crocodile brain is common in this part of Mozambique. Samples of the brew were send to Maputo for tests.

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