The 49-year-old man died of internal burns after drinking cleaning fluid he thought was white wine in the city of Benicarló in the Spanish province of Castellón.
Andrés Lorente was in bar Raconet, on Isabel de Villena square, for a Sunday afternoon drink on June 14th when he was served what he thought was a glass of white wine.
In fact the liquid he was served was cleaning fluid that had been stored in an empty bottle of wine and mistakenly been put in the fridge by a member of staff.
After taking a sip of what he thought was white wine, Lorente felt a burning sensation, according to local newspaper, El Periódico Mediterraneo.
In an attempt to cool the burning sensation he felt in his throat Lorente drank water, according to witnesses, something which could have contributed to the corrosive effect of the cleaning fluid in his body.
An ambulance was called and paramedics tried to resuscitate Lorente on the scene, before taking him to Comarcal de Vinaròs hospital, where he died.
The director of the department of Gastroenterology at Castellón General Hospital, José Antonio Martín, warned that ingesting even a small amount of such a concentrated liquid can be lethal.
“It starts burning immediately,” he told El Periódico Mediterraneo, “if it is potent, it can burn and puncture the oesophagus and stomach.”
Lorente's body will undergo a post mortem to determine the cause of death, police sources told Spanish news agency, EFE.
The owner of Bar Raconet has been questioned by police and could face charges. He is due to appear before a judge on Tuesday.
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