Six persons have died in the last five days at Phakirapahari village in Giridih district, prompting the district administration to send a team of doctors to ascertain the cause, a state government official said on February 16.

The Saria Sub-divisional Officer said the family members of the victims claimed that all of them felt a burning sensation in the chest and vomited before collapsing to death. The deceased include an elderly man and a woman, he said. Local media reports have claimed that the deaths were connected to consumption of spurious liquor. The SDO said that two persons are under treatment at hospitals in Ranchi and Saria. Investigation is underway to ascertain the cause of the deaths, police said.