Nine people have died in India in the last two days from drinking alcohol-based hand sanitizer after liquor shops in their town were closed due to coronavirus restrictions, police said Friday.
The group lost consciousness after consuming a 'high quantity' of hand sanitizer mixed with water or soda, Siddharth Kaushal, police superintendent for Kurichedu town in Andhra Pradesh state said.
He said they were rushed to hospital but declared dead on arrival and an investigation has been launched into the deaths.
The group turned to hand sanitizer 'as a substitute' for liquor after licensed liquor stores were closed when authorities ordered a lockdown of the town to combat coronavirus.
Total infections in the world's second-most populous country are now 1.63 million.
Hundreds of poor people die every year in India due to alcohol poisoning, mostly from consuming cheap hooch.