The death toll from alcohol poisoning in a Siberian city has risen to at least 41 after the victims consumed a bath lotion, officials said Monday, prompting local officials to introduce a state of emergency on Monday.
Responding to the tragedy in Irkutsk, the Russian government also called for tighter regulation of the alcohol market.
The sale of lotions and tinctures containing alcohol has been on the rise in recent years as Russia has plunged into recession under the impact of Western sanctions and a slide in oil prices. Poisonings caused by cheap surrogate alcohol are a regular occurrence, but the Irkutsk case was unprecedented in its scale.