Fourteen persons died after consuming hand sanitiser in COVID-19 hotspots of Kurichedu and Pamur in Prakasam district.
While 11 persons, including two beggars, died at Kurichedu, three others reportedly died after consuming it at Pamur, in the last 24 hours.
Liquor outlets shut
All liquor outlets in the two villages had been shut in the two villages in the wake of surge in cases as part of measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Some tipplers, most of them labourers, initially tried sanitiser mixed with soft drink or water. At least 20 persons in the village consumed hand sanitiser one after another in the last 10 days, said Darsi Deputy Superintendent of Police K. Prakasa Rao.
Some of them developed severe pain in the abdomen and were rushed to the government hospital at Darsi for treatment.
While three persons died late on Thursday night, six others died on Friday morning and yet another person died while undergoing treatment, said Kurichedu Mandal Revenue Officer U. Ashok Vardhan after conducting a preliminary inquiry.
One of the affected persons said they had got addicted to liquor which had gone out of their reach ever since the lockdown was imposed. Hence, they went for the cheap and easily available hand sanitiser, he said. The deceased included a farmer. Police collected the leftover sanitiser bottles for examination of their contents in a lab.
MLA visits village
YSR Congress Party MLA from Darsi Venugopala Rao, who visited the village, urged people not to consumer sanitiser as it could prove fatal.
The deceased were identified as Kadiyam Ramanaiah (28), A. Srinu (29), B.Tirupatiah (35), P. Dasu (65), M. Charles (36), G. Rami Reddy (57), K. Augustine (42), Raja Reddy (65), Kangani Ramanaiah (45) and Sk.Saida (26) from Kurichedu, and Mallikarjuna Rao (36), Rosaiah (41) and Sk. Khadarbee (31) from Pamur.
