Russia Bath Lotion Poisoning: Death Toll Rises To 58. See Updates Here!

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The number of people who have died in Russia as a result of drinking bath oil has risen from 49 to at least 58, according to local media report. Russian health officials have confirmed that at least 58 people have died in a Siberian city from methanol poisoning after consuming a fake bath lotion.

The death toll in Irkutsk, which is Russia's sixth largest city, has been rising since Sunday. Some of the 37 other people who became ill are still undergoing treatment, while others are in a critical condition.

The affected persons consumed the highly toxic hawthorn-scented liquid as though it was a safe alcohol, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. The hawthorn bath essence contained poisonous methanol which is also capable of causing blindness.

The bath lotion, popularly known as Boyaryshnik, was found to have poisoned the residents of Novo-Lenino neighborhood. Although persons affected are residents of the same area, they were not drinking together, according to CBS News.

Almost half of those undergoing treatment as a result of the poisoning are not expected to live and are in a very serious condition, Health minister Oleg Yaroshenko says.

Reports also claim that, a kindergarten teacher and a doctor are among the victims, and also most of the victims who died were discovered in their in homes because they did not have enough time to call for help. The mass poisoning in Irkutsk reported to be the worst of its kind in modern Russian history.

According to reports, most of the victims are socially disadvantaged people who fall between the age of 35 and 50.  A 33-year-old survivor said he only drank a small quantity of the lotion but still, he woke up blind the next morning. Household products with alcohol content are seen by some people across the former Soviet Union, as a cheap alternative to alcohol, according to BBC.

Bottles with the lotion usually have warnings that state clearly that they are not to be consumed, but correspondents say that the labels in this case, stated that the product contained ethyl alcohol instead of deadly methanol.

Poisoning caused by cheap surrogate alcohol  are a regular occurrence in Russia as analysts say up to 12 million Russians drink household cleaning agents which contains alcohol, including perfume, anti-freeze, after shave, and window cleaner.

Two years of Western economic sanctions has increased the sale of tinctures and lotions containing alcohol. Police earlier uncovered an illicit workshop where the lotion was being made, and arrested its owners, who are believed to be the direct distributors of the product.