Other overseas tourists are also believed to have been served tainted drinks, with at least one New Zealand national said to have received consular assistance after becoming ill.
Australian young people
Holly Bowles, 19, from Melbourne, was the sixth foreign tourist to die after several days on life support in critical condition in neighboring Thailand, where she was evacuated from Laos after a night out. Earlier, her friend and fellow Melbournian, Bianca Jones, 19, had died. The two young women had been backpacking through Southeast Asia when they got sick.
The pair had been staying at a hostel in Vang Vieng and are reported to have joined other guests in drinking free shots of alcohol provided by the hostel, before heading out on the evening of November 11. The two fell ill and were confined to their room for 24 hours, and did not check out as scheduled before being taken to a hospital in Laos and then transferred to separate hospitals in Thailand.
In a statement, Bowles' family said their beautiful girl was now at peace. "She was living her best life traveling through Southeast Asia, meeting new friends and having incredible experiences," the statement said. In a statement released before her death, Jones' family said they wanted to ensure that no other family would have to endure the pain they were going through.
Other victims named
The British victim was named as Simone White, 28, a lawyer whose law firm said she had a "bright future ahead of her". Her parents said in a statement they were devastated by the loss of their beautiful, kind and loving daughter and offered their sympathies to all the other families affected by the tragedy. The State Department confirmed that an American citizen had died in Vang Vieng but declined to provide further details about the person, saying it was following the situation closely and providing consular assistance.
The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that two Danes had died in Laos but gave no further details on the circumstances of their deaths.
Laos Government Reacts
Laos, a secretive communist state, said little about the deaths for days, while many foreign governments issued urgent warnings to their citizens about the dangers of drinking alcohol in the country. The government did respond, saying it was deeply saddened by the loss of lives and pledged to bring perpetrators to justice, adding that investigations were underway to determine the cause of the deaths.
At least three of the foreign tourists are believed to have died after drinking tainted alcoholic beverages, official state media confirmed. Police also detained the manager and owner of a hostel where some of the affected backpackers had been staying, although no charges had been filed as of reporting.
What is methanol? Why is it lethal?
Methanol, an alcohol, is used in industrial and cleaning products, such as paint thinners, antifreeze and fuel. Unlike the ethanol in ordinary alcoholic drinks, methanol is very poisonous to humans: as little as 30 millilitres can be fatal. It is sometimes illegally added to alcoholic drinks as a cheap way to increase their volume, or used in the production of counterfeit versions of well-known alcohol brands and illegal local spirits.
Another of the most dangerous aspects of methanol poisoning is that symptoms can take 24 hours to develop, by which time much internal damage may have already occurred. Symptoms range from dizziness, nausea and vomiting to blindness, organ failure and brain damage. Untreated, the mortality rate from methanol poisoning ranges from 20 to 40 percent, depending on the amount and concentration of methanol ingested.
A Wider regional Issue
These outbreaks of methanol poisoning are not unique to Laos. Thousands of people around the world are poisoned by methanol each year, with the majority of cases reported in Asia and associated with bootlegged or homemade alcohol. More than 150 people died and another 200 were hospitalised in India's northeast in 2019 after drinking unregulated, locally made spirits. At least 11 people died in the Philippines later that year after drinking locally made coconut wine that was contaminated with methanol.
And ongoing awareness campaigns have warned tourists to Indonesia's popular destinations of Bali, Lombok and the Gili Islands about the risks of methanol poisoning after a spate of deaths and illnesses linked to bars in the areas. Many countries in Southeast Asia have issues such as low safety standards, inconsistent enforcement of regulations, and high levels of corruption that make it difficult to prevent contaminated alcohol from reaching consumers.
Vang Vieng and a Warning to Tourists
Vang Vieng has long been a backpackers' haunt in Southeast Asia, noted for its party atmosphere, river tubing, and ready availability of alcohol and drugs. After a string of deaths in 2012, the government of Laos cracked down, closing some bars and trying to rebrand the town as a destination for eco-tourism and adventure travel, but its reputation as a party destination remains for younger travellers. Laos is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia and depends heavily on tourism as a source of revenue for its struggling economy.
Several governments have issued official warnings to their citizens to be extremely careful when drinking alcohol in Laos, with the British Foreign Office in particular warning of the risk of methanol being used in counterfeit alcohol products, after the deaths.
