At least 22 people have died in India's eastern city of Kolkata after drinking bootleg liquor and the death toll could rise, Indian police said today.

The victims, mostly labourers, started vomiting and convulsing with stomach pains yesterday after drinking the liquor in slums around the city's Kidderpore port area along the river Ganges.

"The victims continue to pour in to the hospitals. We have arrested five brewers and raids are on to dismantle the shops," said Jawed Shamim, a senior police official.

In May 2008, at least 180 people died in the southern states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in India's worst bootleg liquor tragedy.