Methyl Alcohol in Wine Kills 3 More in Italy; Toll Is 14

GENOA, Italy —  Authorities on Tuesday reported three more deaths from poisoned wine, bringing the total to 14. Officials cautioned citizens not to drink certain brands of cheap red wine.

Police in Genoa said tests showed that a 52-year-old man who died Tuesday, a week after falling into a coma, was poisoned by wine laced with methyl alcohol.

And in the northern Italian town of Albenga, officials announced that a 68-year-old man who died Monday was killed by poisoned wine. The officials said tests confirmed that wine in the man’s home contained dangerously high levels of methyl alcohol.

Authorities in the province of Torino, meanwhile, said an autopsy on the body of a 71-year-old woman who died Tuesday showed she also was a victim of methyl alcohol poisoning.

Italian authorities have seized hundreds of containers of suspect wine and have been checking wine for export for possible methyl alcohol contamination. The methyl alcohol apparently was added to increase the alcohol content of the wine.