‘Hard to breathe’: Poisoned teens begged for help

The Melbourne best friends, who are fighting for their lives in hospital, told staff at the hostel they were staying in that they couldn’t breathe.

Poisoned Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles complained they “couldn’t breathe” when they begged for help at a backpackers in Laos.

The 19 year olds, who are now fighting for their lives in hospitals in Thailand, have been victims of a mass methanol drink spiking while on a “dream getaway”.

A staff member at the Nana Backpackers where they were staying in tourist hotspot Vang Vieng, a 90 minute drive from Laos’ capital Vientiane, revealed on Tuesday how he tried to help them.

Holly Bowles is very ill. Picture: Supplied.

Bianca Jones complained of shortness of breath. Picture: Supplied.

The best friends had spent almost a day in their room last week before they came out and asked to be taken to hospital.

“No-one found them, they walked to the reception. They spent all day of the 12th (of November) in their room. We didn’t know what happening with them because they go party outside,” the worker, who went by the nickname Pikachu, said.

“They come to tell my staff, please, can you help me, bring me to the hospital.

“They feeling hard to breathe, the staff in the night shift just quickly bring her to the hospital.

“I have only one motorbike so they just bring them one by one, my staff tried to help the customer.”

Laos backpackers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles stayed at Nana Backpackers Hostel.

The room where the two girls stayed.

The best friends had spent almost a day in their room last week before they came out and asked to be taken to hospital.

The girls, both from Melbourne’s southeast, had spent all day sleeping in room 112 at the Nana Backpackers after a night out.

The ground floor dormitory, which opens out into a public bathroom, had eight beds.

It was just a few metres away from the backpackers’ bar where they had been drinking free spirits the night before.

Toan Van Vanng, a bartender at the venue, denied that the girls had been poisoned at his bar.

He poured one of the drinks he said the girls had consumed while at the bar last week.

The Lao Pdr Tiger Vodka, which is 40 per cent alcohol according to its label, was mixed with ice and Coke Zero.

Mr Van Vanng drank the vodka in front of our reporter and photographer to attempt to prove it wasn’t tainted.

He said that it was purchased from a distributor and staff never watered it down or added to the bottle.

Nana Backpackers Hostel bar tender Toan Van Vanng pours in the same Vodka and Coke drink the girls had and drinks it.

Nana Backpackers Hostel bar party photos.

The venue manager claimed that the girls had started drinking at 8pm when happy hour started.

“They only had three drinks because they were talking so much and playing cards,” Pikachu said.

“They left about 10.30pm and went out somewhere.”

He claimed that only Ms Bowles and Ms Jones were staying at the backpackers among the 14 people who became sick that night in Vieng Vang.

But he refused to say where the girls may have been drinking.

The Nana Backpackers, which opened in 2018, had been kicked off booking site Hostel World on Tuesday.

A backpacker, Ivan Rea of Scotland, who arrived at the hostel on Tuesday afternoon said he was surprised when he received a discount.

“I’ve never had a discount before, I should have seen that coming,” he said.

Originally published as ‘Hard to breathe’: Poisoned teens begged for help