The number of people poisoned by alcohol in Bandar Abbas has reached 59; eight people have died.

A spokesperson for Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences says that over the past two days, eight people in Bandar Abbas have died from consuming homemade alcoholic beverages.

Fatemeh Norouzian said that 59 people have been hospitalized due to alcohol poisoning, "17" of whom are in critical condition and are connected to a ventilator.

He stated that 30 of these people are now undergoing dialysis.

IRNA news agency reported that over the past four years, at least 31 people have died in Hormozgan province from consuming homemade alcoholic beverages.

The purchase, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages is considered a crime under the laws of the Islamic Republic, and the punishment for its consumption is 80 lashes. At the same time, according to Article 136 of the Islamic Penal Code, if someone commits a type of crime that is subject to the hadd penalty three times, and each time the hadd penalty for that crime is imposed on him, his hadd penalty is death on the fourth occasion.

The government's ban on the purchase and sale of alcoholic beverages has led to a boom in the illegal sale of alcohol, especially homemade alcohol, in Iran, and every year, numerous reports of deaths caused by the consumption of this type of alcohol are published in different provinces.

So far, accurate annual alcohol consumption statistics in Iran have not been officially announced, but Taghi Rostamvandi, Iran's Deputy Interior Minister, said in January of last year that "between 9 and 10 percent of people aged 15 to 64" in Iran drink alcohol and "more than five million people in the country consume alcohol annually."

Source: Radio Farda