‘We want answers’: Penny Wong hits out as Laos methanol poisoning questions remain

Australia is demanding a “full, thorough and transparent” investigation after six backpackers died from methanol-laced drinks in Laos.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has stressed the Australian government is expecting a “full, thorough (and) transparent” investigation from the Laotian government after the families of the backpackers who died from a mass methanol poisoning in Laos have demandedanswers into how such a tragedy could ever happen.

Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles both died after they fell ill consuming drinks laced with methanol in Vang Vieng in November.

The two 19-year-olds from Melbourne were travelling through Southeast Asia together when they were rushed to hospital in Thailand.

The pair were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in the tourist hotspot of Vang Vieng, north of the capital Vientiane.

Tey both died in the days after the mass poisoning event, which claimed the lives of six people.

Melbourne teen Bianca Jones died from methanol poisoning. Picture: Facebook

Her friend Holly Bowles also died. Picture: Facebook

Speaking on the Today show on Monday morning, the Foreign Affairs Minister said her “heart goes out” to the grieving families and confirmed more would be done to prevent further tragedies.

“This is hellish for (the grieving families) and, you know, my heart goes out to them,” she said.

Senator Wong added that she told the Laotian government that Australia expected a “full, thorough, transparent investigation, and we expect that those responsible are brought to justice”.

“It is entirely reasonable for the families to want answers,” Ms Wong said.

“It is entirely reasonable for the families to want the government to be upfront with them, and that will continue to be my message to Laos.

“We want answers. We want transparency, and we want those who are responsible for causing the deaths of two beautiful, young Australian women brought to justice.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was pushing for answers from the Laotian government. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

When probed about the “devastating” loss of the girls and the parents being “left in the dark”, Senator Wong reiterated that the Australian government was “engaging” with the Laotian government and “offered them assistance”.

“Australians want answers,” she said.

“We want to know what happened.

“And we also want to make sure that no young Australian faces, or no young person from any country, faces these sorts of risks again.”
While it’s not clear whether the Laotian government would take steps to prevent further deaths, Senator Wong said the Australian government would continue to work to get answers.

“I’ll continue to do my part, which is to press on behalf of Bianca and Holly’s families and on behalf of this country for the answers that we want,” she said.

Bianca Jones’s parents Michelle and Mark Jones during a 60 Minutes interview. Picture: 60 Minutes

On Monday, Samantha Morton and Michelle Jones – the mothers of the two girls – told the Today show they were “angry” that they hadn’t heard anything from the Laotian government following the daughters’ deaths.

“We’re still waiting to hear what’s going to happen next,” Ms Morton said.

The mothers raised their concerns over the lack of messaging about the dangers of taking free drinks at hostels and tourist bars, saying they were “angry” about the “lack of information coming out of Laos”.

Backpackers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel when they died.

Simone White, from Orpington in Kent, also died after she became ill in the tourist hotspot.

Her mother, Sue White, told 60 Minutes on Sunday about how her daughter was having the time of her life travelling with friends when tragedy struck.

Ms White said she received a message from her daughter stating “I’m having the best time, you know, it’s an absolutely fantastic holiday”.

“And that’s the last message I got from her, and that was on the, the Tuesday, probably early evening Laos time, you know, just before this incident occurred,” Ms White said.

“You know, she’d messaged me as it was all happening, but that was the final message I got from her.”

Simone White from Kent in the UK was holidaying in Laos when she and her friends became ill. Picture: Facebook

Simone had been travelling with her friend Bethany, who survived the methanol poisoning event.

“On the Friday, I got a phone call at two in the morning from the hospital,” Ms White said.

“Bethany was on the other end of the line you know with the doc, with the surgeon, and she just said, ’You need to give your consent for brain surgery or basically Simone’s not going to make it’.

“It was just absolutely dreadful. Just dreadful.

“It is probably the worst experience of my life. It was just absolutely horrific.”

Bianca’s dad, Mark Jones, told 60 Minutes his daughter was so excited to see the world alongside her best friend.

“When she walked through the gates to the departure lounge, I was counting down the days when we were going to see her again,” Mr Jones said.

“(At the airport) I said, ‘Let’s take a selfie’ and she said, ‘Bugger off, dad’.

“It was the last conversation I had with her.”

The families of the two Australian teenagers also received the terrifying phone call no parent wants to receive and rushed to be by their bedsides.

Bianca’s doctor told her parents their daughter had severe swelling on the brain as her condition worsened.

Bianca Jones’s father Mark said the entire ordeal was ‘absolutely horrific’. Picture: 60 Minutes

“He sat us down again and said, ‘The brain has continued to swell’,” Mr Jones, told 60 Minutes.

“He’s like, ‘We’ll be calling her medically brain dead’.

“So yeah, then we made the decision to turn off all the life support. And then we said our final goodbye. ”

The following day, Holly’s mum, Sam, and dad, Shaun, were also receiving similar news about how her condition would not improve.

“In a way, we were fortunate to be there with Holly when she passed, which we will forever be grateful for,” Mr Bowles said.

“And to not have that would’ve been just heartbreaking. It really would’ve been.”

Holly Bowles' parents Samantha Morton and Shaun Bowles say they want answers. Picture: 60 minutes

Mr Jones said neither of the two friends would have known they were consuming a lethal drink.

“They weren’t doing anything wrong,” he said.

“They were having, having a drink, having fun. And yeah, there’s no way to determine if there is methanol in a drink.

“So it’s, it’s very much a silent killer.”

Despite the six deaths, Mr Bowles said nobody has heard anything from the Laos Government about their investigation into the methanol poisoning.

“We haven’t heard anything from the Laos government. Not a thing,” he said.

Holly was travelling southeast Asia when she died. Picture: Supplied

Bianca Jones’s family are calling for answers. Picture: Facebook

Mr Jones said he was determined to not give up hope that all of the families affected will find out the truth.

“We won’t forget,” he said.

“And we’ll absolutely make sure that they are accountable for the loss of our daughters and make sure that we, you know, to your point, you know other people don’t suffer what we’ve suffered.

“We want some form of closure.

“We want to understand that people who have done wrong by our daughter and Holly and the other people are going to be brought to justice.”

Mr Bowles said he hoped no other family would ever have to go through what his family had experienced since losing their daughter Holly.

“If this gets parents to have a conversation with their kids if they’re off travelling, then that’s something, I guess, but it doesn’t yeah, at the end of the day, it doesn’t make us feel any better at the moment,” he said.

Originally published as ‘We want answers’: Penny Wong hits out as Laos methanol poisoning questions remain