4 homeless men dead, 4 sick in suspected poisoning in Brazil

SAO PAULO – Four homeless men are dead and four other people are hospitalized in critical condition after drinking from a bottle containing a “suspicious liquid” given to them by unidentified people, Sao Paulo police report.

Police are investigating the case as a possible mass poisoning in the neighbourhood known as “Cracolandia,” or “Crackland,” which is infamous for open drug use.

A police statement said a survivor told authorities that the seven men and one woman were offered a bottle they believed contained alcohol Saturday. After drinking it they became sick and four of the men later died in the hospital. The four survivors are in serious condition.

Police are testing the contents of the bottle, which they described as a “suspicious liquid,” and are searching for the people who provided the bottle.