This woman mourns for her husband, who drank the alcohol

The number of people who have died after drinking toxic illegal alcohol in two southern Indian states has risen to about 150, police say.

A further 135 people who drank the illegally brewed liquor are in hospital, some in a critical condition.

Bootleggers sold the drink in a district on the border between the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Most of the dead are poor, migrant workers. Deaths from illegally brewed alcohol are common in South Asia.

Observers say the number of casualties in this case is shockingly high, even by Indian standards.

Vomiting

At least 107 deaths in the latest outbreak have been recorded in Karnataka, with another 41 in Tamil Nadu.

Some reports put the number of casualties higher and police have said they expect the death toll to rise.

Most of the latest deaths occurred in villages in the border areas between the two states.

Police say they have arrested 16 people for allegedly selling the alcohol in Karnataka.

Senior Karnataka police official Shankar Bidri told the BBC that investigations were going on to try to determine whether all the deaths had been caused from illegal alcohol manufactured at the same place.

It is thought some of the illegal alcohol is still in circulation.

Many poor people, particularly in rural India, buy illicit liquor because it is cheaper and said to be stronger than legal brews.

Restrictions on buying alcohol have been in place in Karnataka because of state elections in recent days, which may have increased sales of the toxic drink.

Social workers say that in many Indian villages police are bribed to ignore the trade in moonshine.

With no quality control, the bootleggers sometimes add chemicals to increase the drink's strength.

Police said victims in the latest tragedy who drank the brew complained of severe stomach aches and vomiting.