Bootleg alcohol kills 11 in Turkey

Eleven people have died in Turkey over the past three weeks, including three young Germans, after drinking bootleg spirits, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry stressed that it was stepping up controls to address the problem.

Inspections have focused on the northwestern province of Bursa, where most deaths occurred, and the southern Mediterranean province of Antalya, Turkey's holiday hub where three young Germans recently died, the statement said.

Inspections at hotels in Antalya this year detected 29 out-of-standard samples, including three that contained the deadly methyl alcohol substance blamed for the 11 deaths since March 21, it said.

In an earlier wave of counterfeit liquor sales, 22 people died in Turkey in 2005 after drinking adulterated raki, a powerful, anise-flavoured spirit that is considered this Muslim country's national drink.

Many have blamed the emergence of illegal stills on hefty taxes levied on alcoholic beverages by the Islamist-rooted government.