Nineteen die in Morocco after drinking toxic alcohol

At least 19 people have died in Morocco’s northern city of Ksar el-Kebir after drinking toxic alcohol at a roadside shop.

Local media reports that dozens of other people were taken to hospital in critical condition, with two in intensive care.

A 48-year-old man has been arrested in connection to the incident. Police are said to have recovered about 50 litres of the alcohol at his store.

In Morocco, selling alcohol to Muslims is forbidden, but it is often discreetly sold in restaurants and stores.

In August, eight people died after drinking contaminated alcohol in the northern Oriental region, and at least 20 died in July last year in a similar incident in Oujda in eastern Morocco.