Snap decision ‘saved’ backpacker from potentially fatal shots

A backpacker has made chilling claims about what happened in a hostel after it became known that tourists had died.

A backpacker in Laos has said a snap decision made on a whim may have saved her from being another victim of a suspected mass poisoning in which two Australian teens died.

Tash Moore, 21, said that bars continued to offer free shots – thought to be the cause of the poisonings – days after the deaths were widely known about in the party town of Vang Vieng.

Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19 and from Melbourne, died in neighbouring Thailand after drinking vodka shots suspected to be contaminated with methanol while staying at the Nana Backpacking Hostel in Laos.

Four other tourists also died. They included Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, who were also staying at Nana Backpacking Hostel.

Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol often used in solvents like antifreeze. It is sometimes inadvertently added to drinks through traditional brewing methods. But it can also be added deliberately as a cheap way to increase alcohol content.

The manager and seven staff at Nana hostel, have now been arrested. No charges have been laid.

It’s been claimed the accommodation offered tainted shots to travellers, which the management have denied.

Holly Bowles died after staying in Vang Vieng. Picture: Facebook

Melbourne teen Bianca Jones also died of methanol poisoning. Picture: Facebook

‘I was going to be there that night’

Ms Moore said she was due to stay at Nana the night the Australians drank the shots, on November 12.

However, on a whim, she made the decision to remain in neighbouring Cambodia for several more days and delay her arrival in Vang Vieng.

Ms Moore said the decision may have saved her life.

“I was going to be at that hostel that night,” she told NewsCorp.

“I do like to have drinks and socialise, and I would have had the free shots.”

Ms Moore heard rumours about the deaths of the two Danes and was advised by a fellow backpacker to avoid the Nana hostel.

She re-booked at the Mad Monkey Hostel, she said, where shots continued to be poured.

“We were told a lot of people were in hospital, but it was under wraps so we didn’t know for sure.

“At Mad Monkey, there was a sign that said ‘due to recent events be super careful with alcohol, but don’t worry our alcohol is fine’”.

Tash Moore of the UK said she narrowly avoided going to the backpackers’ hostel in Laos where two Australians fell ill and later died. Picture: Instagram.

Ms Moore told NewsCorp the deaths appeared to be “swept under the rug”.

Even as more information unfolded about the scale of the tragedy, the bars remained open and the drinks were still flowing.

“In the clubs they were offering free shots and if you didn’t take them they’d look at you, like ‘why won’t you have the free shot?’

“It felt so morbid and things carried on as normal.”

Ms Moore said she refused the free pours and shots. Tourists have been urged to only drink products from sealed containers – like bottles of beer – which are less likely to be contaminated with methanol

Nana Backpackers Hostel where Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles stayed in Vang Vieng.

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Reviews of hostel vanished

It’s now emerged that reviews warning travellers away from the hostel at the centre of the investigation were seemingly deleted after being labelled “slander” by staff.

Several reviews for Nana appeared before the deaths were made public but then vanished.

“Do not go here! They have methanol in their drinks and me and 3 others have been hospitalised because of this,” one person wrote, according to the ABC.

Another backpacker claimed they stayed at the hostel for five days: “Myself and friends were sick from consuming the free vodka here”.

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

“People we know were taken to hospital, some even in intensive care with serious problems.

“The ones in hospital have all had traces of methanol in their bloodstream which is incredibly dangerous”.

“The only event that connects all the different people is drinking at this hostel.”

Screenshots of these Google reviews show a representative from the Nana Backpacker Hostel replying “this is a slander case” and urging the reviewer to “contact us”.

“Our hostel has been operating for five years, and during this time, we have always prioritised the safety and wellbeing of our guests,” it reads.

“We take any claims like this very seriously.”

The hostel’s owner has repeatedly denied the toxic drinks came from his venue in public comments to international media outlets.

A bartender at the hostel bar also drank a vodka served there in front of media cameras in an attempt to prove it was not tainted.