Seven people die in Russia after drinking hand sanitiser

The partygoers ran out of alcohol to drink so reportedly turned to hand sanitiser. Photo / Getty Images

Seven people died in Russia after reportedly drinking hand sanitiser when they ran out of alcohol to drink at a party.

According to local media, two others are still in a coma in hospital following the incident.

The nine people drank hand sanitiser at a party last Thursday in Tomtor village in the Tattinsky district.

Two men, aged 27 and 59, as well as a 41-year-old woman, were the first to die.

Six other partygoers were flown to hospital in the city of Yakutsk.

Four of them died in hospital, while two are still fighting for their lives.

The fatal victims were aged between 27 and 69 years old.

A statement released by the Russian federal public health watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, said that "nine cases of poisoning with sanitiser have been registered, including seven that were fatal".

"The poisoning took place as a result of drinking sanitiser," the statement added.

The sanitiser the partygoers drank was 69 per cent methanol.

A criminal investigation into the incident is now underway.