It was an event to bury the dead and celebrate thereafter. But the celebration has turned to a tragedy as 56 people have been killed after drinking beer believed to have been poisoned.
An additional 49 mourners have been admitted in hospitals.
The incident happened in Chitima and Songo districts in the Northeastern Tete province of Mozambique.
Health authorities in the southern African country confirmed the incident on Sunday.
They also confirmed that 146 more people have reported to hospitals to be examined for the poisoning, district health official, Alex Albertini, told Radio Mozambique.
“Those who drank the contaminated brew were attending a funeral in the region on Saturday”, Albertini said.
Pombe, a traditional Mozambican beer, is made from millet or corn flour. Authorities believe that the drink was poisoned with crocodile bile during the course of the funeral.
Blood and traditional beer samples were being sent to the capital, Maputo, to be tested, said provincial health director, Carle Mosse.
“We don’t have the capacity to test the samples,” she told Radio Mozambique.
Mosse told Radio Mozambique on Sunday that she expected the situation to worsen because the region did not have the necessary resources to deal with the disaster.
Mourners who drank the beer in the morning reported no illness, while those who drank the beer in the afternoon, fell ill, authorities said. They believe the beer must have been poisoned while funeral goers were at the cemetery.
The woman who brewed the beer is also among the dead.
Police are investigating the incident.
Health authorities have begun collecting food parcels and other items for donation to the affected families.
Culled from Yahoo.News
