WAKAYAMA -- Investigators probing a festival cyanide poisoning that killed four people and sickened 67 others Saturday evening suspect that a pot of curry served at the event was laced during one of two unaccounted for periods during which the food wasn't being watched, they said Monday.
Contrary to initial beliefs, police said they now suspect someone mixed deadly amounts of either hydrogen cyanide or sodium cyanide, toxic chemicals often used in metallurgy and agriculture, into the curry before it was brought to the gathering site. They said the large number of people at the festival makes it highly unlikely that the cyanide was put into the curry after the pot was taken there. The cyanide may have been mixed into the curry during a 30-minute period after a portion of the curry was cooked and stored in a garage and before two local residents came back to safeguard it from hungry animals, they said.
About 20 residents reportedly in charge of cooking the curry and watching over it started preparing the staple dish in two large pots at around 8:30 a.m. on Saturday in the garage of a private home. They finished at around noon.