Wine poisoning kills 21 in Indonesia

JAKARTA, June 3 (UPI) -- A batch of rice wine laced with methanol has killed 21 people on the Indonesian island of Bali, including two Britons, officials say.

Police say they have arrested the owner of a small rice wine factory after discovering drums of the wine, called arak, that contained traces of the toxic chemical methanol, which is often used as an antifreeze or solvent, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

The owner and two employees were arrested for allegedly "producing and selling alcohol containing methanol which can cause death," a police spokesman said in a statement. "We are investigating whether they did it on purpose."

Indonesian authorities are also reportedly looking into whether the methanol may have been added to the wine after it had left the factory.

The newspaper said some of the victims died in extreme agony, including Briton Alan Colen, 59, who suffered a long and painful death Saturday after buying arak from a roadside stand near his home in Canggu, North Kuta.

"There was nothing we could do for him," Dr. Ida Bagus Alit told The Times. "When methanol gets into the bloodstream the victim deteriorates very quickly. It attacks the eyes, the liver and the kidneys."