Foreign Office issues ‘death and serious illness’ warning for popular UK tourist destination

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

UK holidaymakers have been issued a stark warning over the dangers of counterfeit alcohol in a popular tourist destination, which has resulted in deaths and “serious illness”.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office issued the update for Turkey, specifically for travellers heading to the country’s major cities Ankara and Istanbul.

It warns that “people have died or suffered serious illness after drinking illegally produced local spirits and counterfeit bottles of branded alcohol.” It comes after 33 people were killed in a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Istanbul last month.

Istanbul authorities announced on Thursday, January 16 that the fatalities were due to the consumption of counterfeit beverages containing methanol—a hazardous substance used in industrial applications—instead of ethanol, which is present in legitimate alcoholic products.