Curiosity killed the cat, as the saying goes.
That’s what literally happened to five fishermen who thought that the bottles they found floating 576 kilometers off the coast of Tangalle town, Sri Lanka contained good liquor.
The crew of the fishing vessel Devon 5 drank the liquid and four died shortly after. Two managed to radio for help and a passing Singaporean cargo ship rescued them for transfer to a Sri Lankan naval ship.
One of the rescued fishermen also died before he could be brought to land, leaving only one survivor.
The director general of Sri Lanka’s Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, Susantha Kahawatta, said the victims gave some of the bottles to other trawlers out at sea, so they radioed them to warn against drinking it, Sri Lankan news site Adaderana reports.
In Perth, Australia, a family of four recently went to an Italian restaurant for dinner.
Marcus and Michele Lemin ordered cranberry juice for their daughters Hannah, 11, and Olivia, 12. When the girls drank the juice, they spat it out and said it was poisoned, the mother told ABC, according to New York Post (NYP).
Not believing her children, Michelle drank the glass of cranberry juice and she also spat it out.
The angry parents demanded from the dining staff the bottle where the pink-colored juice served to them came from. The staff members initially refused to open the store refrigerator but eventually relented.
Marcus got the bottle labeled “plus Bifenthrin,” an insect repellant.
The girls suffered minor symptoms like burning stomachs and were observed for six hours in a hospital before being discharged, NYP reports.
The Lemin family has filed a complaint with the Health Department and local council while the restaurant is investigating the incident.