Three people have died and several others have been poisoned after drinking home-made booze in western Iran,
 the health ministry reported on Tuesday.

“Three people died after consuming alcohol at a ceremony and 20 others were admitted to hospital, some of 
them suffering from loss of vision,” the ministry said in a report on its website.

The report said the incident occurred in Khorramabad, the provincial capital of Lorestan province in western Iran, 
but it did not provide details on the nature of the ceremony.

Iran is an Islamic country where the production and consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited and violations 
are punishable by jail or the lash.

But this has not stopped the production of home-made booze or smuggling from neighboring countries and 
reports of deaths from poisoned alcohol are often reported.