Yasmim Angela Feitosa de Souza, 26, died after she and her guests at her birthday party drank a batch of homemade whiskey that had allegedly been poisoned with methanol
A Brazilian social media star tragically died this week after she and her party guests reportedly drank homemade whiskey allegedly laced with methanol at her 26th birthday bash.
Yasmim Ângela Feitosa de Souza, an Instagram comedian boasting 23,000 followers, marked her birthday in her hometown of Petrolina, situated in eastern Brazil. She and her boyfriend had apparently bought the whiskey from a rural village outside São Bento do Una city, sharing it with a mate during the Monday night festivities.
They guzzled around one and a half litres of the bottle, de Souza’s mum revealed to Brazilian news outlet g1. The next day, while her boyfriend complained of feeling poorly, de Souza was reportedly “happy all day, joking with everyone.”
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However, she started feeling ill that night and rapidly fell victim to the alleged poison, her mum said. De Souza’s boyfriend and the friend who also partook in the whiskey were rushed to hospital with suspected methanol poisoning. Their condition as of Thursday remained unclear, reports the Mirror US.
“They drank on Monday night and then my daughter’s boyfriend woke up feeling very unwell,” shared de Souza’s mum, Ozenilda Feitosa. “Yasmim, however, was happy all day, joking with everyone.
“She accompanied me to the market, we did our grocery shopping and had lunch out. That night she started feeling unwell,” she told g1. “And then I couldn’t do anything to save my daughter.”
An investigation into de Souza’s untimely death is currently underway, according to g1.
Methanol, a colourless liquid, is commonly used in the production of cleaning chemicals, as a solvent for plastics and paint, and to remove water from vehicle and aircraft fuels. According to the National Institute of Health, humans are particularly susceptible to methanol poisoning, with most cases resulting from the consumption of adulterated beverages or products containing methanol.
The symptoms of methanol poisoning can include nausea, abdominal and muscle pain, visual impairment, dizziness, weakness and “disturbances of consciousness ranging from coma to clonic seizures.
“Visual disturbances range from mild photophobia and misty or blurred vision to markedly reduced visual acuity and complete blindness,” the NIH reports. “In extreme cases death results.”
The influencer’s mother revealed that investigators have taken the remaining whiskey from the bottle for analysis. It has been reported that the funeral for the influencer took place at the Campo da Esperança Cemetery in Petrolina.
