Russian authorities say a mass surrogate-alcohol poisoning in the Moscow region has left four people dead.
The Russian Investigative Committee said that 11 residents of Sergiyev Posad, including two women, were hospitalized on June 21 due to poisoning caused by an unknown surrogate alcohol.
The women and two men later died, it said on June 22, while seven other men remain in hospital fighting for their lives.
Poisonings with surrogate alcohol are common in Russia, where people sometimes drink substances with alcohol that are cheaper than alcoholic beverages.
In December-January, 76 people died of alcohol poisoning from consuming a bath lotion.
On December 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the government to introduce tougher laws by July 2017 on the production and sale of perfumes, lotions, and household cleaners that contain any type of alcohol.
