By JONATHON HOWARD
NB: Update to come Wed AM
CAPTION: Health Minister Lawrence Springborg.
DRINKING a toxic batch of homebrew wine containing toxic ingredients may have killed two men and left two others in a critical condition at a Ballandean property on Sunday, 9 June.
Twenty-one-year-old Joel Lynam died at the scene on Sunday and 30-year-old Bryan Wilmot lost his fight at Toowoomba Hospital on Monday, 10 June.
Meanwhile, Vincent Summers, 21, and Joshua Lynam, 26, remain in critical conditions at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Paramedics were called to a property on Puglisi Lane in Ballandean at around 5am, according to police reports.
Joel was unconscious at the scene and paramedics performed CPR.
It is believed the men had been drinking homemade grappa, a high-strength Italian alcohol made by distilling wine-making leftovers, with friends before he fell unconscious.While police were at the home investigating the incident those three other men began feeling ill.
Ambulances were called back to the house and took the three men to Stanthorpe Hospital in a “critical and unstable” condition.
All three were then transported to bigger facilities, with Bryan taken to Toowoomba Hospital and Vincent and Joshua to Princess Alexandra.
Local residents said the home where the men had fallen sick was owned by a bush mechanic and his two sons.
Police have launched an investigation into the deaths and poisoning of the men to determine what happened.
Health Minister Lawrence Springborg said it is an extraordinary and tragic event.
“There will also need to be some consideration as to what risk factors were involved here and what might be able to or need to be done to protect people in the future,” he said.
“When it comes to home brew, it’s not without some degree of risks and the immediate concern needs to be here to make sure the young people are able to be assisted to the road for recovery.”
Mr Springborg says investigations are being conducted by police and Queensland Health.
Ballandean residents and neighbours said they were shocked by the sudden deaths, and a coroner’s report was expected to determine the cause.
