56 dead after drinking beer at Funeral

56 people were killed and 49 others were admitted to hospital in Mozambique after consuming contaminated traditional beer.

According to reports, 146 more people have reported to hospitals to be examined for the poisoning. Police are probing the incident.

Those who drank the contaminated brew were attending a funeral in the region on Saturday, a health official said.

Pombe, a traditional Mozambican beer, is made from millet or corn flour. Authorities believe that the drink was poisoned with crocodile bile during the course of the funeral.

Blood and traditional beer samples were being sent to the capital Maputo to be tested.

According to reports, Mosse said that she expected the situation to worsen because the region did not have the necessary resources to deal with the disaster.

The woman who brewed the beer is also among the dead.

Health authorities have begun collecting food parcels and other items for donation to the affected families.