More dead in Russian 'body lotion' poisonings

By Diyar Guldogan

ANKARA (AA) – The death toll from people drinking body lotion in a Siberian city has risen to over 70, Russia’s health ministry said on Thursday – just a day after President Vladimir Putin signed new laws on products containing alcohol.

"The number of victims of alcohol poisoning in Irkutsk has reached 71," the ministry was quoted as saying by the country’s official TASS news agency.

The ministry also said more than 100 people had been affected due to alcohol poisoning.

President Putin approved Wednesday a list of state regulations on the production and sale of alcohol-containing products, the Kremlin’s press service said in a statement.

TASS reported Wednesday that a total of 11 people had been detained for their alleged roles in the alcohol poisoning.

Russia's Investigative Committee said on Monday that although the bottles carried warnings against consumption, the lotion was being consumed like alcohol.

Following the incident, Mayor Dmitry Berdnikov declared a state of emergency in Irkutsk.

Berdnikov said the sale of all non-food alcohol-containing products was to be prohibited.