BANGKOK: Four foreign tourists have died after a suspected mass methanol poisoning from drinking tainted alcohol at a backpacker hotspot in Laos, Western government officials and media said on Thursday.

A young Australian woman was the latest confirmed death, and her friend was fighting for her life, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Two Danish citizens and an American had also died, officials said, after what media said was a night out in Vang Vieng where they drank possibly tainted alcohol.

The group of several tourists became ill after going out on Nov 12, according to British and Australian media.

“Tragically, Bianca Jones has lost her life. Our first thoughts at this moment are with her family and friends who are grieving a terrible and cruel loss,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament.

“We also take this moment to say that we are thinking of Bianca’s friend Holly Bowles who is fighting for her life,” he said, without giving further details. Holly was on “life support” in a hospital in Bangkok, her father Shaun Bowles told Australia’s Nine News on Wednesday.

At the Bangkok hospital where Bowles was reportedly receiving treatment, staff said they could not confirm whether she was receiving treatment there.

Published in Dawn, November 22th, 2024