At least 25 people have died after drinking toxic alcohol in northern India, police said yesterday. 

Police have arrested 10 men for selling the liquor in Uttar Pradesh. Local media reported that the liquor was purchased on Thursday from a shop.

Hundreds of people die every year in India from cheap alcohol made in backstreet distilleries, affordable for even the poorest. Of the estimated five billion litres of alcohol drunk every year in the country, around 40 percent is illegally produced, according to the International Spirits and Wine Association of India.

The liquor is often spiked with methanol to increase its potency. If ingested, methanol can cause blindness, liver damage and death.