The Ondo State government has commenced investigation into the death of 24 persons, mostly youths, who allegedly consumed poisoned sachet concoctions and locally brewed alcoholic drinks.
Several other victims are currently receiving treatment in hospitals, with medical personnel working to stabilise those affected by the suspected poisoning.
The tragic incident, which occurred across Odigbo and Araromi-Obu communities over the weekend, have prompted the authorities to impose an immediate ban on the sale and consumption of locally produced alcoholic beverages.
It was gathered that health officials have been making strenuous efforts to determine the exact cause of the fatalities.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Banji Ajaka, confirmed the incident yesterday, saying investigations were underway to establish the actual cause of the deaths.
Ajaka declined to disclose the specific substance suspected to have caused the fatalities, stressing that medical and health officials were expected to conduct further assessments in the affected communities.
He said the state government was taking the matter seriously and would provide more details after the ongoing investigation had established the circumstances surrounding the incident.
But the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Ayodele Adeji, said early findings pointed to potential methanol contamination.
He, however, stressed that laboratory analysis of samples collected by the medical team was still ongoing, adding that further investigations would be required to establish whether there was any direct connection between the consumption of the locally brewed drinks and the reported deaths.
On his part, the Chairman of Odigbo Local Government, Taiwo Adegoroye, stated that preliminary investigation conducted by the local government health team indicated a possible link between the reported deaths and the consumption of the substances.
