Thirty people have died in Costa Rica after consuming alcoholic beverages adulterated with methanol, according to a new report presented Tuesday by the Ministry of Health.
Out of 65 people poisoned, thirty died, including 27 men and three women, according to the same source.
The previous assessment dating back to Saturday reported twenty dead.
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Health and police authorities have been on alert since early October, when the first deaths from methanol poisoning were recorded in the popular district of La Carpio, in the western part of San José.
Dozens of other suspected cases of poisoning have been identified in different parts of the country after consuming cane alcohol, known as guaro.
The Ministry of Health and the police inspected more than 300 commercial establishments to collect samples of guaro and submit them for laboratory analysis.
More than 16,000 bottles were seized there.
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