Second Melbourne teenager dies from suspected Laos methanol poisoning
A second Melbourne teenager has died in Thailand after allegedly drinking poisoned cocktails while on her dream gap year holiday.
A second Australian teenager has tragically died just days after her friend after the pair consumed methanol-laced cocktails in Laos.
Holly Bowles, 19, passed away in a Thailand hospital on Friday, according to her heartbroken parents.
“It is with broken hearts and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace,” Bowles’ family said in a Friday statement to media.
“We find comfort and solace in knowing that Holly bought so much joy and happiness to so many people.
“Holly was living her best life travelling through South East Asia meeting new friends and enjoying incredible experiences.
“As her parents we were always so incredibly proud of everything Holly did. Holly was an amazing big sister to James and she always looked out for him
“We would like to thank everyone from back home, in Canada and around the world for the love and support that Holly and our family have received.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes Ms Bowles saying: “I am saddened to hear of the tragic passing of Holly Bowles.
“This should have been a trip filled with joy and wonderful memories - it is beyond sad that is it not to be. My thoughts and my deepest sympathies are with her family and her friends. I am sure all Australians are thinking of Holly and her best friend Bianca Jones who tragically passed away yesterday.
“The Australian government will continue to provide support to Holly and Bianca’s families and the local authorities.”
Ms Bowles was on the trip of a lifetime with her best friend Bianca Jones, with the pair travelling around Southeast Asia with a wider group during their gap year.
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.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our beloved daughter and sister, Bianca Jones, has passed away,” the statement read.
“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us.
“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.
“The kindness shown to our family during this unimaginable time has been truly humbling.
“We kindly ask for privacy as we navigate through our grief and begin to heal. Thank you for respecting our family’s space.”
News of Ms Bowles’ death come as it was revealed that the owner of a backpacker hostel where she was staying with Ms Jones has been detained by police for questioning in Laos.
Ms Bowles is 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.
Ms Jones graduated from Mentone Girls Grammar, and Ms Bowles from Beaumaris Secondary College last year after completing their VCE.
Horror poisonings
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.
They were staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel and consumed drinks at the bar before heading out to another venue, staff at the hostel have claimed.
Both 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.
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“We didn’t know what happening with them because they go party outside,” the worker said.
“They come to tell my staff, please, can you help me, bring me to the hospital.
“They (found it) 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.”
Nana Backpackers bartender Toan Van Vaang denied that Ms Jones and Ms Bowles had been poisoned at the hostel’s bar.
He poured a vodka and Coke Zero, the same drink as the women had been drinking, and took a sip himself to prove it was safe, the Herald Sun reported.
Mr Van Vaang said the vodka was purchased from a distributor and staff never watered it down or added to the bottle.
The women had reportedly come down to the hostel bar for 8pm happy hour and had a few drinks before heading out to a party around 10.30pm, Pikachu said.
Death toll rises
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.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the third death — cited as an American man — was confirmed by the US State Department on Thursday.
The publication reported the traveller had died in Vang Vieng. However, the spokesperson declined to provide specific dates or details about the circumstances around the death.
“We can confirm the death of a US citizen in Vang Vieng, Laos,” the US State Department said.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to their family on their loss.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance.”
On Friday, it was confirmed that British woman Simone White, from Orpington in Kent, had also passed away after consuming drinks in Van Vieng on Tuesday last week.
The 28-year-old was an associate lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology in London at the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs, The Times reported.
Simone’s friend Bethany Clarke raised the alarm with an urgent warning on the Laos Backpacking Facebook group.
“Urgent — please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” Clarke wrote.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
Bethany added that she was “very fatigued and then fainted, then just felt nauseous and then my liver started to shut down”.
‘Cherished and highly respected’
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, best wishes and unconditional support” to the teens “in their hour of need”.
“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.”
Mr Heath wrote that Ms Bowles and Ms Jones had “achieved rarified air” by playing in premiership teams for the club, including together in 2022.
Ms Bowles had since gone on to play senior football for the club, and was part of the VAFA Women’s B Grade competition this year.
“By their deeds and involvement in the girls and women’s football programs, both Holly and Bianca have become cherished and highly respected members of the Beaumaris Sharks family,” Mr Heath wrote.
“We acknowledge Holly and Bianca’s teammates and friends at the club are struggling to come to terms with what has occurred.”
‘They wouldn’t have known’
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.
Australian man Colin Ahearn, who runs Facebook advisory page Just Don’t Drink Spirits in Bali, has been advocating for travellers to only drink single-serve beverages while abroad, such as bottled beer or pre-mixed sealed cans.
Mr Ahearn has been providing travellers who have fallen victim to methanol poisoning advice on treatment and recovery for close to a decade.
Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Ahearn said the teenagers wouldn’t have had any idea what they had consumed until it was too late and the “horrendous” symptoms took hold.
“Ethanol is normal sugar based alcohol, so the body will process ethanol quite easily because it’s just sugar,” he explained.
“Methanol on the other hand, it’s a harder product to be metabolised. So if someone has normal alcohol in their system, that will process that first, then the methanol will be processed.
“Generally speaking, if someone has a big night, there will be maybe a 5-10 hour delay before the booze is out of their system and the methanol takes over, and that’s when it starts to impact their soft tissues.
“So someone consuming it wouldn’t taste it, they wouldn’t have known at all. If there’s no other alcohol in their system, it will hit really quickly.
“But normally there’s other alcohol in the system to metabolise first, so there is a delay in symptoms.”
Back in August this year, six people died in the Thai capital Bangkok while a further 31 were hospitalised after drinking a herbal liquor spiked with methanol.
Thai authorities claim that those who consumed the drink had likely obtained it from one of 18 different locations in Bangkok, who had all bought it from the same supplier.
The supplier allegedly told police that she purchased the alcohol from two brothers and did not know it had been laced with methanol.
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