Liquor mixed with methanol kills 21 in Nicaragua
A total of 21 people died and another 85 were poisoned in Nicaragua after drinking liquor mixed with methanol, the Health Ministry reported on Friday.

Health Minister Margarita Guardían told reporters that the poisoned were being treated in a hospital in the city of Leon, about 100 km northeast of Managua, where the liquor was sold.

She warned that though the government had declared a state of emergency in Leon, irresponsible vendors were still selling alcohol diluted with methanol.

"What also worries us is that people continue to drink illegal rum, even though we have told them, using the media, to stop doing so," she said.

"Alongside the PN (National Police) and the Fire Brigade we are visiting those shops to seize booze," said Guradían. "But they (vendors) definitely hide some ... people keep buying it."

Police have closed down hundreds of stores in Poneloya, a resort on Leon's Pacific coast, where the first poisoned liquor was found.

The Health Ministry was transferring some poisoned patients from Leon to Managua, in ambulances and fire trucks, since the local hospital had run out of beds.

Selling homemade alcohol is legal in Nicaragua, and widespread in rural areas. After the poisonings happened, Leon's mayor temporarily banned the sale of all alcohol.