At least 16 dead due to cider poisoning in Russia's Ulyanovsk

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) — At least 16 people died on Monday due to cider poisoning in Russia's southwestern Ulyanovsk region, a senior local official said.

"According to the latest information, 35 people were injured: 25 in Dimitrovgrad, 9 in Ulyanovsk, and one in Novaya Malykla. 16 people died," Ulyanovsk Governor Aleksey Russkikh said on Telegram.

In an earlier statement, Russkikh had said 22 cases of cider poisoning had been reported in the region.

National consumer rights service Rospotrebnadzor announced an investigation into the incident, reporting that the poisoning occurred as a result of the consumption of a local drink made in the neighboring Samara region that it cited on preliminary information.

It further said that measures were being taken to seize the product from circulation and suspend its sale, urging against its consumption until the end of the investigation.

Reports of cider poisoning also came from the Samara region, as well as the Russian Republic of Udmurtia.