PHNOM PENH, July 14 (Xinhua) -- Two villagers had died and 48 others had been hospitalized in northeast Cambodia's Kratie province after drinking rice wine, which was suspicious of containing high levels of methanol, a local official said Saturday.
"One woman died on Thursday and the other on Friday, as 48 others had been admitted to the Snuol district referral hospital," Kong Kimny, governor of Snuol district, told Xinhua.
"According to a preliminary inquiry, the victims had consumed rice wine during a funeral before falling ill and dying," he said.
The ill-fated villagers had the same symptoms: dizziness, eye irritation, cough, diarrhea, fatigue, and breathing difficulty, he said, adding that 27 of them had recovered and left the hospital on Saturday morning.
Homemade rice wine is popular in rural areas in this Southeast Asian country due to its cheap price.
In May, methanol-laced rice wine and contaminated water also killed 13 people and sickened nearly 300 others in Kratie province's Chitborey district.
