Toxic bootleg liquor kills at least 35

? At least 35 people have died from drinking methanol-laced sugarcane liquor in the past week and nearly 600 have fallen ill, overwhelming hospitals in Nicaragua’s worst health crisis in recent history, officials said Monday.

Health officials warned the death toll would likely rise. It is believed that at least a dozen deaths have not been registered yet, said Dr. Humberto Martinez, assistant health director in the city of Leon, where most of the cases have occurred.

The U.S. military flew 25 health experts, medicine and equipment to Nicaragua on Sunday to help treat the victims.

So far, 603 cases have been reported across the country since last week, Martinez said.

Police have arrested six people who allegedly helped distribute the illegal liquor laced with methanol, a toxic industrial alcohol used in antifreeze that can cause blindness and death in small doses. Bootleggers sometimes add methanol to their batches of liquor to make them stronger.