Tragedy in Salatiga

This morning I received sad news out of Salatiga, Central Java in Indonesia. This beautiful town is the home to many of my Indonesian friends and was also my home for a month while studying at university there.

There has been an incident involving poisoned local liquor due to illegal manufacture which has resulted in the deaths of other 70 people and the hospitalisation of hundreds more. This number is bound to rise as more and more people are affected by the liquor. The liquor in question was manufactured near Jakarta and it is reported its contents included food colouring, glue and the ingredient which is often involved in these cases methanol. Methanol is renowned for causing death and blindness even in small doses so it appears that the number of deaths will rise.
This is a tragedy beyond comprehension for such a small town. Arrests have been made over the incident and I implore the Indonesian government to punish the people responsible for this. Deaths due to local wines and spirits are common in Indonesia but to this scale are truly saddening. I will be watching this situation over the next few weeks to check for any updates.
Latest word from my friend is that the hospitals of Salatiga are full of victims of poisoning and that most victims are pengamen, the truck and angkot drivers of Salatiga. Police are also conducting raids throughout town arresting liquor sellers.

A slaughter to these proportions in a town that I love is tragic and my heart goes out to all the residents of Salatiga particularly the victims and their families. If you could spare some thoughts or prayers for the people of Salatiga it would be much appreciated.