Mozambique police probe mass beer poisoning deaths

President Armando Guebuza declared the three days of national mourning starting Monday for the victims of the mass poisoning which happened when people attended a funeral in the village of Chitima in central Mozambique at the weekend.

The source of the contamination appears to be a traditional beer, Phombe, made from millet or corn flour.

Authorities believe the drink was poisoned with crocodile bile during the course of the funeral. Mourners who drank the beer on Saturday morning reported no illness, while those who drank the beer in the afternoon, fell ill, authorities said. They believe the beer must have been poisoned while funeral goers were at the cemetery.

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

Northeast Tete province Health, Women and Social Welfare Director Paula Bernardo said on Monday that 196 people had been admitted to provincial hospitals over the weekend.

"People flocked to the hospital, suffering from diarrhea and muscle pain," Bernardo told Radio Mozambique. "Then bodies from various neighborhoods were brought to the hospital, and this alerted us."

Beer samples and suspect objects found inside the keg have been sent to the National Laboratory in the capital, Maputo, for testing.

"We are waiting for the results of the tests of the samples being done at Maputo Central Hospital so that we can identify the type of the product put into the drink," provincial health director Carla Mosse said.

jm/rc (Reuters, AP)