Six children orphaned due to mass poisoning in Irkutsk

Six children have been orphaned after their parents died of poisoning from drinking a bath cleaning product containing methyl alcohol and antifreeze in Irkutsk, said a representative of the regional government’s press service.

Four of the children were already living in foster care because their parents had been denied parental rights and another child was living with relatives, who have since drawn up custody papers.

One child was sent to an orphanage, but is expected to be transferred to his relatives in the near future. The child is receiving counselling from a psychologist.

Irkutsk regional governor Sergey Levchenko has requested that the orphaned children be given support.

• In December 2016, over 70 people died of poisoning after drinking a bath cleaning product sold under the brand name Boyaryshnik. The product contained methyl alcohol and antifreeze. According to Alexey Krupin, head of the local branch of Russia's alcohol regulatory body, the product's label indicated that 93 percent of its composition was made up of ethanol, i.e. ordinary drinking alcohol; additional ingredients included hawthorn extract, lemon oil, glycerol, and diethyl phthalate. The label did, however, state that the liquid should not be ingested.
• According to police, the bath cleaning product was made by an illegal enterprise producing alcohol-based liquids at a gardening company in Irkutsk.
• On December 19, Irkutsk mayor Dmitry Berdnikov declared a state of emergency and said that a temporary ban would be introduced on the sale of non-food grade alcohol-containing liquids, including those sold under the brand name Boyaryshnik.