Libyan Colonel Mahmoud al-Shaif, the top security chief in Tripoli, said that 79 people have died over the past four days from drinking homemade alcohol.
Its contents are suspected of containing poisonous methanol, according to the Associated Press. Authorities are searching for two people who are believed to be involved in making the poisonous drinks. Health experts and investigators are looking into whether "it was the methanol or bad fermentation" that may have caused such a large number of deaths.
Health minister Nouri Doghman, who also said the survivors still experience blindness, and others have gone into comas or suffered kidney failure. The range of the deceased is 19 to 50, the AP reported.
The sale and consumption of alcohol is banned in Libya, so some turn to black market dealers to buy it, which is oft-times cooked in homes or deserted farms. The homemade alcohol is locally known as "bokha," according to CNN. According to the Libyan News Agency, there were 709 other cases of alcohol poisoning.
Methanol overdose symptoms include "breathing problems, blindness, comas, seizures and death."
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Tripoli National Security Directorate announced the formation of a committee of five officers to oversee the investigation into the alcohol poisoning, which some reports cite as the worst ever in Libyan history.
"A security task force that includes a number of security and revolutionary forces has been formed and is ready to raid suspected bootlegger hideouts upon orders from the government, according to the state news agency," CNN reported.
