Four people have died and nearly 40 were taken to hospital after drinking tainted tequila at a 15th birthday party in Mexico. Local officials in Mexico said the quinceañera, a traditional Latin American girl's 15th birthday party, was held at a party hall in Salamanca in the state of Guanajuato over the weekend.
Several of the victims were relatives of the birthday girl, identified only by her first name, Jazmín, according to local news outlet AM. Jazmín's father, José Antonio Cárdenas, 39, her uncle, Martín Robles, 28, and two other guests, Sanjuana González, 36, and José Guadalupe Ramblás, 33, were the four people who died.
It is understood that the day after the party, many of the guests' families thought they were hungover, but later their loved ones were unconscious after they did not wake up. Ramblás' grandfather, Narciso López, confirmed his death and said that another one of his grandsons was also poisoned by the tainted alcohol, but was 'doing well', and demanded that 'justice must be served.'
"They tell me my grandson was asleep and stayed that way all Sunday, until they saw he wasn't waking up. They took him to the hospital and they tell me he's dead," he told Periódico Correo. One of González' friends told AM she worked as a food vendor, and people became concerned when she did not show up to sell tamales two days after the party.
"She always went to work early in Puerto de Valle, but on Monday she didn't show up to sell, and then we found out about this. We want to know what happened," they said. Around 28 people who were poisoned at the party were treated at the Hospital de la Gente in Salamanca, it has been reported. Eight others were treated at the Mexican Social Security Institute and two at another Hospital de la Gente.
Six remained in the hospital as of Tuesday, June 9, according to the outlet. Authorities are working to identify the source of the tequila, but sources told AM that it is up to the Guanajuato State Attorney General's Office to continue the investigation.
