2 people died, 6 people hospitalized after drinking alcohol, including 1 person from Nghe An

On August 6, the owner of a restaurant on Tang Nhon Phu Street, Phuoc Long B Ward, worked with Thu Duc City Police, Ho Chi Minh City about the deaths of 2 students and the hospitalization of 6 people after a drinking party at the restaurant.

He said that at 11:30 p.m. on August 3, after the restaurant closed, 6 employees (all students) organized a meal in the restaurant's yard. The food was bought from another restaurant. They invited 2 more female students to come over.

The students (19-24 years old) ate and drank the entire 5-liter bottle of liquid labeled "alcohol" taken from the restaurant's food storage (with permission from the management). By dawn the next day, the drinking party was over, and everyone cleaned up and left.

According to the restaurant owner, the liquid was there 3 months ago. At that time, an employee of the restaurant (now retired) went to the grocery store to order mineral water for the restaurant, the seller delivered 5 bottles, one of which was suspected to be alcohol. The restaurant manager labeled the bottle "alcohol" and put it in storage.

Currently, the restaurant owner has not provided any invoice or proof of purchase of 5 bottles of mineral water as stated above. The employee who ordered the water has quit his job, so it is not yet known which grocery store delivered the water to the restaurant.

The police coordinated with relevant agencies, the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Management Board... to collect samples of food and alcohol that the group of employees drank, but there was none left.

The patients are receiving intensive treatment after 2 days of methanol poisoning from a drinking party. Photo:Hospital provided

After the drinking party, a student died in his rented room. The remaining 7 people all had stomachaches, dizziness, and vomiting. They took medicine but it did not help. They then had convulsions, drowsiness, and coma.

Four people were taken to Le Van Viet Hospital on August 5. One patient was in critical condition, in a coma, and died. Due to the serious condition of the students, two were transferred to Gia Dinh People's Hospital, and a less serious case was transferred to Thu Duc Regional General Hospital.

Doctor Tran Thanh Du - Deputy Head of the Examination Department, Gia Dinh People's Hospital said that in addition to the 2 students transferred from Le Van Viet Hospital, there were 2 other cases brought by their families. All 4 students were admitted to the hospital in a state of methanol poisoning, with a critical prognosis.

Two more severe patients are being treated in the Intensive Care Unit, requiring ventilators and dialysis. One patient is awake, the other is still unconscious. The two milder cases are being monitored in the Endocrinology and Nephrology Department, with low methanol levels and stable condition.

Methanol is a chemical, used only in industry because it is very toxic to humans, produced from fermented wood, cheap. When ingested, methanol can turn into a toxic substance in the blood, affecting many organs.

This substance can cause damage to the central nervous system, acute respiratory failure, heart failure, hypotension, severe shock, acute kidney failure, blindness... Treatment is often difficult, with a high mortality rate.

Previously, on the night of August 3, while looking after Mr Bao's restaurant (Tang Nhon Phu Street, Phuoc Long B Ward, Thu Duc City), Mr. LQK (20 years old, from Nghe An) invited 5 employees of the restaurant and 2 other friends to have a drink. These people bought food from outside and took 5 liters of alcohol available at the restaurant, which was contained in a bottle of mineral water mixed with soft drinks and drank it all. The group left in the morning of August 4.

By the afternoon of August 5, the restaurant owner, Mr. D.QT (32 years old, living in Go Vap district), received news that two restaurant employees, Mr. LQK and Mr. NVC (19 years old, living in Thu Duc city), were showing signs of fatigue and poor cognition. Immediately afterwards, Mr. T took the two employees to Le Van Viet Hospital, Thu Duc city for emergency treatment. At 3:30 p.m. the same day, Mr. C. died at the hospital and Mr. K was taken to Gia Dinh People's Hospital for emergency treatment. The remaining 6 victims were NCT, NVTV, VVĐ, TTGM and 2 friends of M.