Four people are dead and nearly 40 others were rushed to hospitals after guests allegedly drank tainted tequila at a teenage girl’s quinceañera in Mexico, turning what should have been a joyful family celebration into a horrifying tragedy.

The party was held Saturday, June 6, in the community of Puerto de Valle in Salamanca, Guanajuato, for a 15-year-old girl identified by local outlet Periódico Correo as Jazmín. But by the next day, families realized something was terribly wrong.

Some guests who had been drinking at the celebration reportedly stayed asleep for hours. At first, relatives believed they were simply hungover after the party. Then came the terrifying discovery: some were unconscious and could not be woken up.

Others began suffering alarming symptoms, including vomiting, severe headaches and blurred vision.

By the end of the nightmare, four people had died, according to local reports. They were identified as Sanjuana González, 36, José Guadalupe Ramblás, 33, José Antonio Cárdenas, 39, and Martín Robles, 28.

Cárdenas and Robles were reportedly the birthday girl’s father and uncle.

Nearly 40 more people were hospitalized after allegedly consuming the adulterated alcohol. Periódico Correo reported that 28 people were treated at Hospital de la Gente in Salamanca, eight others were taken to the Mexican Social Security Institute, and two more were treated at another Hospital de la Gente facility.

As of Tuesday, June 9, six people remained hospitalized. According to Reforma, two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, were among those who needed medical care.

The heartbreaking aftermath has left families demanding answers.

Narciso López, the grandfather of Ramblás, said his grandson appeared to be sleeping after the party and did not wake up.

“They tell me my grandson was asleep and stayed that way all Sunday, until they saw he wasn’t waking up,” López told Periódico Correo. “They took him to the hospital and they tell me he’s dead.”

López said another one of his grandsons was also affected by the suspected tainted tequila but was recovering in the hospital.

“Justice must be served,” he said.

Ramblás, who played soccer, was remembered by Liga De Fútbol Valtierrilla, which shared condolences for his loved ones in a Facebook post.

González was also well known in the community. A friend told AM that people grew worried when she did not show up to sell tamales as usual after the party.

“She was very well known here,” the friend said. “She always went to work early in Puerto de Valle, but on Monday she didn’t show up to sell and then we found out about this … we want to know what happened.”

Authorities are now trying to determine where the alcohol came from and how it ended up at the celebration. The source of the alleged bootleg tequila has not yet been confirmed.

According to AM, Salamanca’s local government said the investigation will be handled by the Guanajuato State Attorney General’s Office.

The quinceañera, a traditional Latin American celebration marking a girl’s 15th birthday and her transition into adulthood, was meant to be a milestone filled with family, music and celebration.

Instead, it ended with ambulances, grieving relatives and a community shaken by the deadly mystery of what was inside the tequila.