Rare Indian tribesmen die from toxic drink

Eight members of a rare Indian hunting tribe numbering around 100 have died after drinking a toxic liquid they mistook for alcohol, media reports and a rights body said Thursday.

Another 15 of the isolated Onge tribe were in hospital after drinking the contents of a plastic can they thought contained liquor, the Press Trust of India said, quoting officials in the remote Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The container had washed ashore on their island where authorities have ordered a probe.

The tropical islands are home to four other rare tribes - the Great Andamanese, the Jarawas, the Sentinelese and the Shompens, each numbering fewer than 350 members. The Onges were hunters and fishers but have now become dependent for food on the local administration, according to rights group Survival International. AFP