At least five persons were killed while several others battling for their lives in hospitals on Friday after allegedly consuming liquor in dry Bihar.

Around 50 people have died in different parts of the state in various hooch tragedies this year. The latest incident occurred at Repura village under Saraiya police station in Muzaffarpur district. The administration has put the hooch toll at four.

The locals said a group of people partied on Thursday night at which alcohol flowed freely. Soon many among them started complaining of nausea and restlessness.

“By early morning, a couple of the people who had fallen ill died. Two others passed away soon after. Everybody in the village panicked and rushed the other ill people to private hospitals and nursing homes,” said a resident of Repura on the condition of anonymity.

The villagers put the figure of hospitalised people between six and 10, of which they claimed that the condition of two others appeared critical.

“On the one hand we are worried about the well-being of our family members, on the other hand we are worried about being implicated in cases related to prohibition. But liquor is easily available in our area and the regulars keep drinking,” one of the villagers told The Telegraph.

Muzaffarpur district magistrate Pranav Kumar said the cause of the deaths would be ascertained only after the post-mortem reports of the deceased. “However, preliminary inquiry indicates that a few people had arranged liquor and consumed it while partying. We are currently accepting the deaths due to consumption of hooch,” he said.

The district magistrate said the house where the ill-fated group of people partied was deserted.

“The police and excise teams are at the village where the incident has happened. They are conducting inquiries and investigations,” Pranav said.

Chief minister Nitish Kumar brought special laws and imposed total prohibition in Bihar in April 2016.

There has been a series of hooch tragedies since then, including the ones that occurred in Kaimur, Muzaffarpur, Nawada, West Champaran, Vaishali and Siwan this year.