Amateur sleuth uncovers claims of earlier incidents linked to Laos hostel at centre of mass poisoning

A push by fellow backpackers to investigate the mass poisoning at a Laos hostel that left six tourists dead has uncovered disturbing claims.

A push by fellow backpackers to investigate the mass poisoning at a Laos hostel that left six tourists dead has uncovered claims that more than a dozen people who previously stayed there fell ill from suspected tainted drinks.

Six foreigners, including Melbourne best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died of suspected methanol poisoning after consuming laced drinks in the tourist town of Vang Vieng two weeks ago.

The victims had been staying at the Nana Backpackers Hostel, which has since been shut down by police.

But with little information so far from local officials, the fellow backpackers have taken it upon themselves to investigate.

One grieving man, a European who knew two victims, carried out a survey of other travellers he had met in Asia, asking them if they or any of their friends had to seek hospital treatment while in Vang Vieng, a popular backpacker hotspot about 130 kilometres north of Vientiane.

The Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng. Picture: AFP

Out of more than 20 he polled, 14 people answered yes. Of the 14, all but one said they or the people they knew who became ill stayed at the Nana Backpacker Hostel.

The man, who is travelling through Southeast Asia, made an online report of what he found. He redacted the names of respondents and asked to be kept anonymous to protect himself and others — and that he was trying to fill the void left by Laotian authorities.

As part of the report, he spoke to a woman who tried to help his friends who died. The woman alleged the hostel did not call an ambulance even when one of the women was having a seizure.

Instead, a worker allegedly massaged the Danish woman’s toes and feet, saying that it was only a panic attack and, “‘I’m saving her, don’t worry’.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that Australia had offered to support authorities in Laos in the investigation, including through the assistance of the Australian Federal Police.

“The Foreign Minister has been in direct contact with her counterpart, Minister Wong has underscored our expectation the investigations are thorough and transparent,” Mr Albanese told parliament.

Mr Albanese said Australian officials would work closely with their international counterparts “to co-ordinate approaches” in an effort to prevent another “tragic incident” like this occurring again.

“We want to work with other governments based upon this experience to see whether any action can be taken,” he said.

“Obviously it is a sovereign nation, Laos, but I know they are devastated as are the governments of other countries who have been impacted by this.”

Holly Bowles. Picture: Facebook

The Laotian government has promised to bring the perpetrators to justice, saying in a statement on Saturday the nation was “profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists”.

“The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law,” it said.

It is understood a group of about a dozen foreigners in total fell ill from consuming the drinks.

The other victims who died were British woman Simone White, 28, Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and American man James Louis Hutson, 57.

No one has been charged over the incident.

A spokesman for the hostel said it bought the alcohol from a certified distributor and insisted it had not been tainted by hostel staff.

Bianca Jones. Picture: Supplied

They said the shots were served to about 100 guests and the hostel had not received any other complaints. To prove the point, a bartender drank from one the bottles to show it was safe.

“Right now the police (are telling) every hostel and hotel and bar to stop selling drinks in Vang Vieng,” they told the Associated Press.

It is claimed Ms Jones and Ms Bowles were at the bar playing cards from 8pm to 10.30pm and had three drinks each in that time — Lao Pdr Tiger Vodka containing 40 per cent alcohol, mixed with ice and Coke Zero — before heading out to a party.

The pair spent the next day sleeping in their room and came out to tell staff they “couldn’t breathe” and needed to go to hospital, the Herald Sun reported.

One hostel worker said the girls sought help from reception staff and were gravely unwell.

The pair were taken to hospital on November 13 by hospital night staff after they were found in their room.

Ms Jones tragically died last Thursday in a Thailand hospital while Ms Bowles died a day later. Their families had rushed to their sides before their deaths.

The two Danish victims, Ms Coyman and Ms Sorensen, reportedly messaged a friend to say they had been vomiting blood for hours before going silent.

They had been planning to meet up with a Belgian man they had met earlier in their travels before the distressing messages prompted him to spend several days searching for them.

The state-run Vientiane Times reported that Ms Coyman and Ms Sorensen drank at the hostel bar on November 12 and then visited some other local bars.

They got back to their room around midnight but then stayed there. Staff found them about 6pm the next day, lying unconscious on their bathroom floor.

They were rushed to hospital but were reportedly declared dead at about 3.30am local time on November 14.

They died in hospital in Vientiane with doctors citing “heart failure”.

Mr Hutson was reportedly found unconscious in his bed on November 13 after staff noticed he had not come out of his room. The Vientiane Times said police found four empty bottles of beer and two empty bottles of vodka in the room.

Tourists visit the Phukham Cave lagoon in Vang Vieng. Picture: AFP

Ms White, a lawyer from Orpington in Kent, had been drinking free whisky or vodka shots offered by the hostel, her mother Sue White told The Sun.

She said her daughter and two friends had six each, and took themselves to hospital the next day after falling ill.

Sue White said the British trio were “dismissed” by medics, who told them they were suffering food poisoning, so an ambulance to a private facility had to be arranged.

“They had to wait an hour for the ambulance and by the time they got there, Simone was delirious and had trouble breathing,” she said.

“I think, basically, it had already affected her brain.”

Methanol is highly toxic and as little as one shot can be fatal. It is difficult to distinguish from ethanol, the alcohol found in beer, wine, and spirits, because it is colourless, odourless and tasteless.

Dr Blair Aitken from Swinburne’s Centre for Mental Health and Brain Science explained that in some cases, dangerously high methanol levels were created during illegal alcohol production or home distillation “due to poor control during the distillation process”.

But in other cases, “methanol is intentionally added to counterfeit alcohol because it is easier to produce and a cheap way to increase alcohol content”.

— with Chantelle Francis