The Russian Investigation Committee said on Saturday that 18 people have died from alcohol poisoning in Yekaterinburg city.
Investigations found that the victims had drunk methanol-dosed liquor.
Methanol is a poisonous type of alcohol that is often used for industrial purposes.
“As a result, 18 people died from consuming the mentioned liquid,” the committee stated.
The Investigative committee’s specialty is major crimes.
This incident follows a similar probe the week before into suspected alcohol poisoning.
The mass poisoning on October 10, linked to illegal alcohol in southwest Russia, killed 34 people.
Also, the poisoning hospitalized 24 more people at the time, according to local authorities.
According to the Interfax news agency, Orenburg’s local government said, “There are 67 victims of surrogate liquor in the region.”
Moreover, Police seized 2,000 bottles of liquor on Saturday and said they had identified methanol in it.
The investigation in Yekaterinburg concluded that the victims acquired the liquor between October 7-14.
They bought the liquor from a group of shady people, two of whom are in custody, said the investigative committee.
Similar cases of alcohol mass poisoning have shocked Russia in the past.
For instance, in 2016, 77 people in Siberia died from drinking bathing oil laced with methylated spirit.
