Otavi children fall sick after drinking alcohol from accident scene

Several children at Otavi were allegedly admitted to the Otavi clinic after consuming alcohol recovered from an accident scene near the town over the weekend.

Affirmative Repositioning Otavi secretariat Paulus Shimoshili told The Namibian that members of the party visited the hospitals after reports that children had consumed alcohol recovered from the scene of a truck accident.

“Children are lying in hospital beds. We have some pictures of children also lying in hospital beds. It’s a worrisome situation,” Shimoshili says.

He calls on the police to launch an urgent operation to remove the alcohol from households where it may have been taken after the accident.

The Otavi Town Council has since issued a public warning, saying the products were reportedly not intended for the Namibian market and contained a high concentration of alcohol.

The council says the safety of the products could not be guaranteed because they may have been exposed to excessive heat, fire, smoke and other contaminants following the accident.

“Members of the public who have such products should not attempt to consume, sell or distribute them,” the council says in a notice issued by the office of its chief executive on Tuesday.

The council urges residents to report any such products to the relevant authorities for assessment and appropriate action.

The ministry of health has not yet confirmed the situation.