Melbourne teenagers in critical condition in Thailand after suspected methanol poisoning

Two Melbourne teenagers are fighting for life after a suspected mass poisoning during a holiday in South-East Asia.

Family members have flown to be at the bedsides of the 19-year-old women, who are thought to have fallen critically ill after consuming methanol in the popular tourist town of Vang Vieng in Laos on Thursday before being hospitalised in Bangkok.

Two others are believed to have died in the suspected drink poisoning, according to Nine News, with at least 10 people understood to have fallen ill.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman confirmed on Monday that the government was providing consular assistance to two Australians and their families in Thailand.

“Our thoughts are with them at this deeply distressing time,” the spokesman said. “Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”

The two 19-year-olds, from Melbourne’s south-east, were on a university break and were believed to have been travelling as part of a larger group.

The Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.

A staff member at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, about 130 kilometres north of Laos’ capital, Vientiane, said the Melbourne women were among several young Australian women checked into the hostel last week.

A post on the Nana Backpacker Hostel’s Facebook page from June last year said it hosts a happy hour for guests every night between 7pm and 9pm with free whisky and vodka on offer.

The staff member said he believed the group went out for the night to several of the many nearby bars and returned to the hostel in the early hours of the following morning.

Two of the young women were staying in a private room and at least one was sleeping in a dormitory.

“The girls went out to party ... and then on the next day they slept all day,” said the worker, who did not want to be identified.

He said the women were meant to check out last week, and when they never arrived at reception, staff went to look for them in their rooms. He said the teenagers reported feeling unwell and staff sought medical help.

“I am so sad,” he said. “They were very friendly. We were talking together a lot.”

The women are believed to have graduated from Mentone Girls Grammar and Beaumaris Secondary College last year.

Radio 3AW drive host Jacqui Felgate said on Monday afternoon that she had spoken to the father of one of the women, who was in Bangkok by his daughter’s bedside.

Vang Vieng in Laos is popular with tourists.Credit: iStock

“A horrendous situation, these girls critically ill, and they’re only 19 years of age, on one of those wonderful trips that so many young people do,” Felgate said.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning can include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulties, blindness, blurred vision and seizures.

Since poisoning often occurs in the context of drinking alcohol, the early symptoms may go unnoticed because they may closely resemble intoxication at first. Drinking between 25 and 90 millilitres of methanol can be fatal.

The colourless substance is sometimes added to alcoholic beverages in places such as Thailand, where home-brewed spirits are widely available as a cheap alternative to ethanol (the standard alcohol in alcoholic beverages).

Various cases of methanol poisoning have been reported overseas in recent years, prompting Australian authorities to warn of the dangers of drinking local brews.

The Smartraveller website says home brews, cocktails and even brand name alcohol can be contaminated.

“Alcohol production is less regulated in some destinations than in Australia. This can lead to methanol being used in the production process to lower costs. Methanol is highly toxic. As little as one shot can be fatal.”

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