A group of customers suffered mouth burns and bleeding at a restaurant in India after consuming dry ice they believed was a post-meal mouth freshener.
Three couples were offered a mouth freshener by the restaurant staff in Gurgaon, a satellite city outside the capital Delhi. Shortly after consuming it, they started to suffer from pain and burns. Several also started to bring up blood.
The customers called the police who took them to a hospital.
“After dinner, we were about to leave when the waitress offered translucent granules in a bowl and told us those were mouth fresheners,” said Ankit Kumar, a customer who did not take one as he was caring for his child.
“They tried spitting it out and attempted to wash it with water. They vomited and started bleeding. They were writhing in pain, seeking help. I called the restaurant staff, but no one helped us,” Mr Kumar told the Times of India.
A police investigation found that the substance offered to the customers was dry ice, a solidified form of carbon dioxide that is used as a cooling agent for food products including ice cream.
Restaurants use dry ice while serving to keep some dishes cool or to use the vapour it emits for dramatic effect.
If consumed, dry ice can burn the mouth and oesophagus. In extreme cases, it can rupture the stomach and be fatal.
Police have charged a waitress with criminal conspiracy and causing damage by poisoning.
“We came to know that the waitress, by mistake, picked up the pouch containing dry ice instead of mouth fresheners, and offered it to the victims. We have seized the samples of dry ice and sent them for forensic analysis,” Inspector Manoj Kumar said.
“We will find out why the restaurant has kept dry ice and how the waitress mistook it for a mouth refreshment item."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Women’s T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier
ICC Academy, November 22-28
UAE fixtures
Nov 22, v Malaysia
Nov 23, v Hong Kong
Nov 25, v Bhutan
Nov 26, v Kuwait
Nov 28, v Nepal
ICC T20I rankings
14. Nepal
17. UAE
25. Hong Kong
34. Kuwait
35. Malaysia
44. Bhutan
UAE squad
Chaya Mughal (captain), Natasha Cherriath, Samaira Dharnidharka, Kavisha Egodage, Mahika Gaur, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Vaishnave Mahesh, Judit Peter, Esha Rohit, Theertha Satish, Chamani Seneviratne, Khushi Sharma, Subha Venkataraman
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
