Laos hostel offered Australian teens free shots hours before they became critically ill

Bangkok/Vang Vieng: The manager of a backpacker hostel where two Australians were staying when they became critically ill says he served the pair free shots of local vodka but denies that is what made them sick.

Duong Duc Toan, manager of the Nana Backpacker Hostel in the Laos town of Vang Vieng, said other guests notified staff that Melbourne teens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were unwell. The women failed to check out as planned on November 13, and he said the hostel then arranged hospital transport for them.

Bianca Jones (left) and Holly Bowles are fighting for their lives in separate Thai hospitals.

The 19-year-olds remain on life support in separate Thai hospitals following a mass suspected alcohol poisoning incident while on a night out in Vang Vieng last week.

Their parents and Jones’ brother have flown to Thailand to be by their bedsides. The Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Wednesday that two young women had died in the incident. The women are believed to have been aged in their 20s, The Bangkok Post reported, while 10 others had also fallen ill.

Toan said the Australian women had joined more than 100 other guests for free shots of Laotian vodka offered by the hostel as a gesture of hospitality.

The hostel said the women started drinking at the bar at 8pm and left about 10.30pm, going elsewhere for the rest of the night and returning in the early hours of the morning. He said no other guests reported any issue.

When this masthead visited the hostel on Tuesday afternoon, Toan produced a bottle of Tiger Vodka he said he served the women, pouring himself a drink and finishing it.

Nana Backpacker Hostel manager Duong Duc Toan pouring himself a drink from a bottle of Tiger Vodka and finishing it.Credit: Nine

The bottle says the vodka is 40 per cent alcohol and is distilled in the southern part of the country’s capital, Vientiane.

The bar attached to the hostel remained open on Tuesday, although Toan said it was not giving out free shots. Guests were still able to book in for stays.

He said he hoped investigations would clear his name.

Local police said many details about what occurred to the two Australians remained unclear and that the matter was still under investigation.

The Jones family released a statement on Tuesday saying their daughter had been on a “dream getaway with her best friend Holly”.

“They were filled with joy and had such incredible adventures ahead of them, travelling through Asia,” the statement said. “We are here by Bianca’s bedside praying for her. Please respect our privacy at this difficult time.”

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

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.”

With AP

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