BALI, Indonesia — Police said 25 people including four foreign tourists and expats are dead after drinking contaminated arak. Police told CDNN that Rachel Maria Craig, 25, from Ireland, died on the resort island of Gili Trawangan last Saturday and her Dutch boyfriend, Rene Puper, 23, died on Sunday in a Lombok hospital. Expat American Rose Johnson, 48, from Phoenix, Arizona, died in Bali on Monday and British expat, Alan Colen, 59, who lived in Bali for about six years, died on Saturday. Police blamed contaminated arak for the deaths of the four foreigners and 21 locals. Arak, which is distilled from plam sap or rice, is a colorless, sugarless drink commonly used in religious ceremonies in Bali. Police said the victims drank unlabeled arak that had been cut with methanol, a toxic chemical used in paint and antifreeze. Bali police spokesman, Gde Sugianyar, warned tourists and local Balinese to avoid drinking unlabelled arak. "We have been watching and conducting raids across Bali especially arak sellers who sell their liquor from jerry cans. We asked Balinese to stop buying unlabelled arak until we find what exactly caused the deaths," Sugianyar told reporters. Arak is popular among locals and tourists who refer to it as "arak attack" because it is much cheaper than imported alcohol and has a very high alcohol content of 20 to 50 percent. | | At least 25 people are dead, including four foreigners, after drinking contaminated arak. It is also much cheaper than imported alcohol, which is heavily taxed. Arak has a high alcohol content of 20 to 50 per cent, making it the drink of choice for some tourists who use it for cocktails to get a so-called "arak attack." Police suspect the contaminated arak came from a small wine distiller in Denpasar, the capital of Bali, where they arrested the owner and an employee.
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