Man orders beer in local pub and dies
A visit to his favorite pub ends fatally for a 31-year-old from North Carolina: after ordering a beer, he feels sick and dies in hospital a short time later. The suspicion quickly arises that it wasn't just beer that came out of the tap.
What was meant to be an ordinary evening among friends in their local pub ended in tragedy in the US state of North Carolina. 31-year-old Connor S. and two of his friends ordered beer in a pub in the town of Winston Salem. After drinking it, they began to vomit, as reported by the Daily Mail. They were immediately taken to hospital - S. died in the clinic a short time later. The official cause of death is still unclear. However, local media assume that the beer that S. and his friends drank was contaminated with a toxic cleaning agent.
It was 8:20 p.m. on November 9 when the pub's bartender called 911. He reported that a guest had "vomited violently" and "couldn't get down from the toilet". Two other guests also had similar symptoms. According to the employee, all three complained of a burning sensation in their throats and mouths.
"All three people drank exactly the same beer," the newspaper quotes from the bartender's emergency call. He also expressed a suspicion: "I think they forgot the purifier in one of the beer lines." The bartender is referring to a company contracted by the pub to clean the tap system.
Lye and acid used for cleaning
Caffey Distributung, the company contracted to clean the system, said it was investigating the matter. It is not yet known what chemicals were used to clean the pub in North Carolina and whether the agents were actually left in the system. The company promotes a thorough approach to cleaning the dispensing systems on its website. According to this, the systems are treated every 14 days "with a cleaning solution known as caustic". An acid is also used every 90 days. According to the report, the agents used are compounds that can cause burns to the mouth, throat and stomach.
According to the Daily Mail, the owner of the pub expressed her condolences to S.'s family, but did not comment further on the case. The body of the 31-year-old is still undergoing an autopsy, the results of which are still pending. However, the State Alcoholic Beverages Control Board has already stated that it is not investigating the incident as it is assumed to be an accident.
Read also:
- Snow chaos further restricts Bavaria
- Unanimous decision: faster wolf culls possible
- The year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Snow and ice paralyze southern Germany
Despite the ongoing investigation, international media outlets have started to report on the incident, raising concerns about pub safety standards in the USA. The 31-year-old victim, who was a native of North Carolina, is now being remembered in memorial services held in his hometown.
Source: www.ntv.de
