31 Oct 2006

Three dead in PNG after drinking methylated spirits

7:17 pm on 31 October 2006

Three young men in Papua New Guinea's East New Britain are dead and three others are now blind after drinking methylated spirits.

They had reportedly drank a cocktail which mixed meths with pineapple juice over the weekend at Kurakakaul near Rabaul.

The Post Courier reports that two of the men, including a man from North Solomon Islands, died simultaneously on Sunday at Nonga hospital.

The third died yesterday after being under intensive care for a couple of days.

They had been part of a group of 25 men aged between 19 and 29 who drank the mixture at the weekend.

The others, including the three blind men, were treated at the hospital and will be reviewed again today.