At least 41 people have been killed after consuming toxic alcohol in India's western city of Mumbai (Bombay), the BBC cited local police as saying Friday.

They said residents of a slum in the Malad area fell ill after drinking the alcohol on Wednesday morning.

More than 20 people are being treated in hospitals, amid fears that the death toll could rise.

Toxic alcohol deaths are a regular occurrence in India, where people often drink cheap country liquor.

Nearly 170 people died in 2011 in the eastern state of West Bengal.