One call from Laos and I knew my daughter was going to die

Simone White’s body is being repatriated after she and five others died of methanol poisoning. If it can happen to a bright young lawyer it can happen to anyone, her family says.

Sue White, left, went to her daughter Simone’s bedside as she was treated for methanol poisoning in Laos.

When Sue White got a call to say that her daughter was in a critical condition after drinking contaminated vodka while backpacking in Laos, she embarked on the 16-hour journey to be by her bedside.

“I knew when I had that phone call - I don’t know what it was, call it a mother’s intuition - but I knew that she was going to die,” she said.

Simone White, 28, a solicitor who lived in southeast London, is one of five young people who died just over a week ago of methanol poisoning after staying with two childhood friends at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.

White’s two friends survived the experience but are said to be traumatised. Her body will be repatriated this weekend for her funeral.

Her mother is speaking publicly for the first time since she died to issue a warning to people planning to travel the world: “Please be careful when it comes to drinks. Simone was a university-educated, highly intelligent person. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.”

On the night she was poisoned, Simone and her friends drank six vodka shots served by the hostel, which they mixed with Sprite bought from a nearby supermarket. Nine days after drinking the vodka, her ventilator at a private hospital in Laos was switched off by her mother.

Sue, 61, a travel agent from Orpington, took a Saturday flight to Bangkok from Heathrow, then a second flight to Laos. “The flight from the UK was horrendous,” she said. “Before I left, I got a call from the hospital to say she needed urgent brain surgery and I had to give my consent.

“I had to go through the whole flight thinking she was going through brain surgery. It was a terrible, terrible journey. It was a Thai Airways flight and the whole crew were from Thailand, so there was nobody to speak to.”

In the end, she arrived at the hospital just as Simone, who was unconscious, was being wheeled from the intensive care unit into theatre. “It was horrendous. Absolutely horrendous,” she said.

“She had such beautiful long blonde hair, which had all been shaved off for the operation. It was the worst experience of my life. There are no words, really.”

Simone’s brother, Zak, 23, says he is “totally devastated”.

Last week Laos police detained eight hostel employees for questioning over the incident. The owners of the hostel, which is now closed, have denied serving illicit alcohol.

Her father, Neil, 58, said: “I hope that the police investigation brings those responsible to justice, both for Simone and all the other victims. We hope this raises awareness to all future travellers about the dangers of consuming local alcohol.”

Simone flew to southeast Asia on November 8 to meet a friend who lives in Australia. The pair spent three days in Cambodia, then arrived in Laos on Monday, November 11, checking into Nana Backpackers Hostel. Her friends have relayed to Sue the events leading up to her daughter’s death.

“They booked that hostel because it had five-star reviews online,” Sue said. “They didn’t go out on the first night, even though they were offering free drinks.”

The next day, another friend arrived. “The three of them went out on Tuesday evening,” she said. “The hostel advertised the fact that it gave away free vodka shots for two hours every evening.

“They had six shots each, and they all felt fine, not particularly drunk. They didn’t taste or smell anything out of the ordinary with the drinks.

“They went to bed and the next day they woke up at 8am and checked out of the hostel. They all had a headache and didn’t feel great, but thought it must have been the cheap vodka.”

Their condition worsened on Wednesday. They tried to get a public bus to the next town and began to feel unwell.

“One of them was throwing up by the roadside,” Sue said. “At one point Simone was on the bus being sick, and was asked to leave. They got a taxi to the public hospital.”

Sue has seen Simone’s medical documents, where staff wrote “food poisoning”, and appear not to have recognised the symptoms of methanol poisoning.

The Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng. Picture: AFP

Methanol is a deadly chemical that can be found in home-brewed or counterfeit alcohol. When consumed, the body converts it into toxic formic acid, which can result in organ failure, blindness, brain damage and death. Even a small mouthful can be fatal. There is no commercial portable test for the chemical.

That evening, the group travelled from the local hospital to Kasemrad International Hospital, a private medical facility in Vientiane, Laos’s capital, which is about 130km to the south of Vang Vieng, where they could receive better care.

The next morning, Sue received a message from one of Simone’s friends. It read: “I don’t want to worry you but we’re all in hospital and they think it is acidosis. Simone is the worst affected out of all of us but she’s not doing too badly. Keep you updated.”

Acidosis is a condition where there is too much acid in the body’s fluids, which happens during methanol poisoning. One of the main toxins produced can cause brain damage.

“I was worried,” Sue said. “But not unduly so. I thought they’d stay a couple of days in the hospital. They were put on IV drips. Simone was the most badly affected. It had already started affecting her brain. She was getting quite distressed, refusing treatment and pulling out the cannula. She went into respiratory failure.”

On Friday morning, Sue received a phone call from Simone’s friend. “You should come out here,” she said. Simone’s surgery was delayed because she needed two blood transfusions. On Sunday morning, just as Sue arrived, Simone was taken in for the operation.

Her brain function was gone, and there was no chance of her waking up. She died on Thursday, November 21.

“It was so unfortunate. It just affected Simone so much more than the other two. They all drank the same amount. The doctor was saying it was how people’s metabolisms can break down methanol differently, and unfortunately it has just gone straight to Simone’s brain. The other two were unwell but not half as bad as Simone.”

As a keen runner, cyclist and gym-goer, Simone was usually in excellent physical condition, and was an experienced traveller who had visited Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, the US and much of Europe.

“She had crammed so much into her life,” Sue said. “She wasn’t a novice going to a new country.”

“That’s our only consolation, really: that at least she died doing something she loved.

“All I can say is: I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of messages from her friends and colleagues. We had no idea how popular she was. Now she’s gone.”

The Sunday Times