Poisoned beer kills 56 in Mozambique

Fifty-six people have reportedly died after drinking poisoned beer in Mozambique, health officials have said.

An additional 49 people are being treated in hospital in the northeastern Tete province and 146 more have come forward to be examined, Associated Press reported.

Those who drank the contaminated traditional beer were attending a funeral, district health official Alex Albertini told Radio Mozambique.

Police are investigating whether the beer was poisoned with crocodile bile during the service.

The woman who brewed the beer is among the dead.

Blood and beer samples are being tested by a local health authority as part of the probe.

Health officials fear there could be more deaths with the region unable to cope with the scale of the disaster.

Food parcels and other items are being donated to affected families, authorities said.