Dad’s plea after methanol poisoning death
The father of one of the Melbourne teenagers has called for his daughter’s tragic death to lead to change.
The grieving father of one of the Melbourne teenagers who died from methanol poisoning, while on a dream trip to Laos, has issued a plea to ensure his daughter’s death was not in vain.
Bianca Jones was on the trip of a lifetime with her best friend Holly Bowles, with the pair travelling around Southeast Asia with a wider group during their gap year.
Both teenagers tragically died after the pair consumed methanol-laced cocktails in Laos.
Ms Bowles, 19, passed away in a Thailand hospital on Friday, according to her heartbroken parents.
A day earlier, Ms Jones sadly passed away in a Thailand hospital on Thursday with her loved ones by her side, her family confirmed to the Herald Sun.
The women had been on life support in separate Thailand hospitals.
‘Cruelly cut short’
Speaking publicly for the first time about the tragedy, Bianca’s father Mark Jones, said his daughter’s “lust for life and adventure” had “cruelly been cut short”.
“Our daughter was on the trip of a lifetime with one of her best mates,” he said.
“This was meant to be a trip full of lifelong memories, and was to be the first of many.
“Bianca wanted to explore the world, meet new friends, lead and create change for good.”
News of the teenagers’ deaths came as it was revealed that the owner of a backpacker hostel where they were staying had been detained by police for questioning in Laos.
They were booked in at Nana Backpackers Hostel and consumed drinks at the bar before heading out to another venue, staff at the hostel have claimed.
Nana Backpackers bartender Toan Van Vaang denied that Ms Jones and Ms Bowles had been poisoned at the hostel’s bar.
An outpouring of sympathy after the tragedy has come in from around Australia including from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, while hundreds attended a vigil held in the women’s honour in Melbourne on Saturday.
‘Make sure this incident doesn’t happen again’
Mr Jones thanked Australian government for its support but made a plea to authorities in Laos.
“I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Laos government to investigate this to the fullest extent, to make sure this incident doesn’t happen again,” he said.
“We can’t have the passing of our daughter … not lead to change to protect others.
“Young men and women should be able to travel, create their own life experiences and be safe.
“We’ll forever miss our beautiful girl and hope her loss of life has not been in vain.”
The Laotian government has promised to bring perpetrators to justice after a mass poisoning that has killed six tourists, including two Australians.
It released a statement on Saturday, saying it 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.
Very little information has been released about the investigation with scarce details released on the number of tourists affected and the possible source of the methanol-laced drinks.
Six deaths already
Mr Jones also expressed his family’s grief for not only the two young Australian victims but the four other international tourists to die in the popular backpacker town this month.
Ms Bowles was the sixth person to die after the mass poisoning, following the deaths of two Danish women, a US citizen, a UK lawyer and Ms Jones.
The two Australian woman fell incredibly ill after consuming the drinks thought to be spiked with methanol on November 11.
The pair spent the next day sleeping in their room but came out to tell staff they “couldn’t breathe” and needed to go to hospital, the Herald Sun reported.
One hostel worker, who went by the nickname Pikachu, said the girls sought help from reception staff and were gravely unwell.
It is understood that the Melbourne teens consumed deadly cocktails while visiting the tourist town of Vang Vieng, located around 130km north of Vientiane in Laos.
It is thought as many as 10 other people have fallen ill in the same mass drink-spiking, with six tourists now dead.
The Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed two young women from Denmark had died as a result of a poisoning in Laos, which is still being investigated by local authorities.
British lawyer Simone White, 28, also died, along with two Danish women and an American man.
Ms White was an associate lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology in London at the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs, The Times reported.
Police documents named the American as James Louis Hutson, 57, and the Danish women as Anne-Sofie Orkid Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, according to The Age.
‘Tragic and distressing’
Both Ms Bowles and Ms Jones came through the ranks of the Beaumaris Football Club in Melbourne’s southeast.
In a statement, president Nick Heath extended the club’s love and best wishes.
“Our heartfelt thoughts are also with their parents Samantha and Shaun Bowles, Michelle and Mark Jones as well as their extended families and friends,” he said.
“The situation that occurred while both girls were travelling in South-East Asia is tragic and distressing.”
Ms Jones went to Mentone Girls Grammar, while Ms Bowles attended Beaumaris Secondary College in Melbourne.
Methanol poisoning
Methanol is often added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, which is the normal alcohol used in alcoholic drinks.
According to the Methanol Institute, this usually occurs in countries where taxes on ethanol are seen as too high — such as Bali and other Southeast Asian countries.
Drinking just 25 to 90ml of methanol can be fatal, the institute said.
Symptoms of poisoning can include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulty, blindness and seizures.
– with Jasmine Kazlauskas
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