British tourist Simone White has died after suspected methanol poisoning in Laos
A UK lawyer with a promising future has tragically died after she was caught up in a suspected mass drink poisoning in Laos.
World
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A British woman has died and her friend is ill after having a drink allegedly containing methanol while on holiday in Laos.
Lawyer Simone White, 28, from Kent was one of at least 14 tourists who fell ill in Vang Vieng, a tourist town about 130km from the Laos capital of Vientiane.
The Times and The Sun both reported the 28 year old’s death on Friday morning.
Ms White was an associate lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs in London where she practised commercial, intellectual property and technology law.
“My practice covers a broad range of general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues,” her LinkedIn profile said.
“I have experience across a range of different sectors and I have spent time working in the in-house legal team of a publicly listed global out-of-home advertising company.
“I have also undertaken client secondments during my time at SPB, including at a leading live entertainment company and at an international fashion retailer.”
Ms White was in Vang Vieng, Loas, with her friend Bethany Clarke, who had also been hospitalised.
Ms Clarke had warned others to avoid drinking the free spirits on offer at the party towns backpacker bars.
Many of the victims became ill after staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Laos last Tuesday but it is not known where the contaminated drinks were sold.
Her friend, Bethany Clarke, took to Facebook to warn other travellers to “avoid all local spirits”, revealing she was among a group of six who had been taken to hospital with “methanol poisoning”.
“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits,” she wrote in a group for backpackers in Laos.
“Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.
“Just avoid them as [they are] so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
Bethany added that she was “very fatigued and then fainted, then just felt nauseous and then my liver started to shut down”.
She continued: “I got to the private hospital in time but underwent many infusions and tablets and days of recovery.”
Melbourne teenagers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones are fighting for their lives following the mass poisoning which has claimed three lives.
Ms Jones and Ms Bowles were on a four-night stay at Nana Backpackers Hostel when they fell ill.
On Wednesday, the pair remained on life support in separate hospitals in Bangkok and Udon Thani with their families by their side.
Two of the deceased were Danish women and the third an American man.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance,” a spokesman for the US State Department said, adding that responsibility for investigating the tragedy rested with local authorities.
“We offer our sincerest condolences to their family on their loss … Out of respect to the families during this difficult time, we have no further comment.”
The hostel manager, Duong Duc Toan, confirmed more than 100 guests were given free shots of Lao Tiger vodka, mixed with ice and Coke Zero.
He said the alcohol was from a certified distributor and not tampered with by his staff.
“Right now the police [are telling] every hostel and hotel and bar to stop selling drinks in Vang Vieng,” he told the Associated Press.
Toan told the ABC: “The police in Vang Vieng and [the capital] Vientiane already came to the hostel to check, the shop [where] we buy the vodka, check the shop [where] we buy the whisky.
“We don’t do anything wrong, for sure. I really take care of all of the customers [who] stay with our hotel and our hostel.”
More Coverage
Originally published as British tourist Simone White has died after suspected methanol poisoning in Laos