The first victims of a mass methanol poisoning which eventually killed over 70 inhabitants of Irkutsk, Russia, began arriving at hospitals. 2016 Irkutsk mass methanol poisoning: In December 2016, over 70 people died of methanol poisoning in the Russian city of Irkutsk. Caused by the consumption of adulterated surrogate alcohol, it was the deadliest such incident in Russia's post-Soviet history. December 17, 2016. Wiki link