BANGALORE, India, May 21 (UPI) -- Health officials in India Wednesday said scores of people died from ingesting illegal alcohol, despite warnings about the substance known locally as "hooch."
Hospitals throughout the country reported at least 45 deaths since Tuesday. Several of those affected were laborers who died following a spat of hooch-related illnesses during the weekend, The Times of India said.
"All those who have died are laborers and we found that they are continuing to drink even after Sunday night's tragedy. Those who died on Tuesday include the ones who had consumed hooch on Sunday and also those who consumed it on Monday," local officials said.
Some of the hooch in India boasts a near 100 percent alcohol content from fermenting sugar cane pulp.
Authorities are searching for a man described in the Times as an "unauthorized illicit liquor vendor."
