BERLIN, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- At least 20 people have died of methanol poisoning after drinking high-proof alcohol from the Czech Republic, German authorities said.
The country's Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety is warning citizens that drinking tainted vodka and rum can result in blindness or death, The Local.de reported.
German officials said anyone who brought back high-proof liquor from the Czech Republic shouldn't drink it.
An investigation is underway to see whether any of the tainted liquor has been sold in Germany.
Deaths and illness from poisoned liquor have also been reported in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Last week, the Czech Republic enacted an immediate ban on the sale of beverages with more than 20 percent alcohol in response to a series of poisonings.
Czech police have arrested more than a dozen people and confiscated hundreds of gallons of illegal alcohol.
