PÄRNU — 2001 · Major Tragedy
The Pärnu Methanol Poisoning
In September 2001, 154 people in the Estonian town of Pärnu were poisoned by methanol after drinking bootleg alcohol, and 68 of them died. The investigation found that the illegally sold liquor had been made using the contents of stolen methanol canisters. Forty-three of the dead were found outside hospital and 25 died in hospital; many survivors were left with severe disabilities such as blindness and permanent brain damage. Because Pärnu's health facilities lacked capacity, patients were distributed to hospitals across the country. Estonia's worst poisoning disaster, it became a turning point in the fight against the illicit alcohol trade.
- Date
- 2001
- Place
- Pärnu County, Estonia, Pärnu, EE
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 58.3850, 24.5000 ↗
Timeline of Events
- September 2001Mass poisonings from bootleg liquor began in Pärnu.
- September 2001Patients were distributed nationwide; the death toll reached 68.
- 2008A six-year follow-up study showed the survivors' damage was permanent.
Sources
- Wikipedia — Pärnu methanol poisoning incident en.wikipedia.org ↗
- ERR News — Pärnu methanol tragedy news.err.ee ↗
- PMC — Methanol poisoning and long term sequelae pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov ↗
- Wikipedia
- ERR News
- BMC Clinical Toxicology (PMC)
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
Related Cases
More cases from the 2000s
Categories
Collections
🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.