Briton, 2 Australians in intensive care after suspected alcohol poisoning in Laos

BANGKOK – One British and two Australian tourists are seriously ill after drinking alcohol suspected of being tainted with poisonous methanol in a tourist town in Laos, after two young Danish women died, hospital sources told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.

The British tourist is in intensive care in a hospital in the Lao capital, Vientiane, while the two Australians are in hospital in neighboring Thailand, the sources said. As many as nine other tourists were ill, media reported.

All of them were believed to have been in the Lao town of Vang Vieng, a favorite destination for backpackers in Southeast Asia.

The Lao government said it had not identified what killed the two Danish women and made the others sick.

“We acknowledged the incident but we do not have the autopsy and investigation results yet,” said an official at the Ministry of Public Security who declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.

RFA previously reported that tourists got sick after a late-night drinking session on Nov. 12, according to sources in Laos who declined to be identified.

A member of staff at the Kasemrad International Hospital Vientiane, said a tourist was admitted to the hospital last week.

“The British national is in ICU,” the female staff member told RFA, referring to the hospital’s intensive care unit. She declined to give further details about the condition or gender of the patient.

Two Australians, Holly Bowles and her friend, Bianca Jones, both 19, were in serious condition in Thailand – one in hospital in Bangkok and the other in the town of Udon Thani, near the border with Laos, Australian media reported.

A member of staff at the Bangkok hospital did not deny it was treating one of the tourists but declined to identify her or give details of her condition.

Australia’s 9News quoted Bowles’ father, Shaun, as saying his daughter was still fighting for her life.

“Our daughter remains in the intensive care unit, in a critical condition. She’s on life support,” he said.

Jones’ family said in a statement carried by Australian networks on Wednesday that she remained in intensive care in Udon Thani and they had received no update on her condition.

“This is every parent’s nightmare and we want to ensure no other family is forced to endure the anguish we are going through,” the family said.

The two best friends had been on a “dream getaway,” the family said in an earlier statement.

‘Profit over lives’

An official at the No. 103 Military Hospital in Vientiane told RFA on Wednesday the two unidentified Danish women had died of severe poisoning.

“The [first] woman passed away on the first day she was transferred from Vang Vieng, having breathing difficulties,” the official said. “The second woman was able to travel by herself in a car but finally succumbed.”

She said many other patients were referred to hospital elsewhere.

Most of the sick tourists – who included Danish and Swedish nationals – had been staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in the town, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, reported.

RFA spoke to Duong Van Huan, an owner of the hostel, who said that the poisoning did not occur at his bar.

“I don’t know much of what happened,” he said “They went to the bar and came back … I only sent them to the hospital … I don’t know which bar they went to – Vang Vieng has lots of them.”

A foreign businessman in Vang Vieng told RFA he thought there needed to be an international inquiry.

“From my opinion, this needs a lot of investigation by local and foreign officials,” he said. “The ones who are accountable will get what they deserve and send a very clear message to all bars and hostels that they should never make a small extra profit over lives.”

Police told RFA Lao they are investigating whether the source of the illness was methanol, a clear liquid that is often illegally added to alcohol as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. Even a small amount of methanol can be fatal.

A tourist took to a Laos Backpacker group on Facebook to post a warning.

“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits,” the tourist said. “Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it. 6 of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”

An official at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok declined to comment.

Edited by Mike Firn