Methanol deaths: Vodka factory shutdown and owner arrested

A distillery has been shut down and the owner arrested amid contamination fears after six tourists, including two Australians, died of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos.

A rundown distillery believed to be at the centre of a methanol poisoning outbreak that killed six tourists in Laos has been shut down, as the owner and three hostel staffers are arrested.

The factory, on the outskirts of Vientiane, was closed by authorities last week and banned from producing Tiger Whisky and Tiger Vodka until product quality improved.

A document from the Laos Department of Food and Drugs said the decision to stop production was made based on samples of Tiger products collected and tested by authorities.

The Tiger factory has been shut down after six tourists died from allegedly drinking spirits laced with methanol. Picture credit: ABC

Holly Bowles, 19, died after drinking free shots laced with methanol. Picture: Facebook

Melburnian Bianca Jones, 19, also died after consuming the drinks. Picture: Facebook

The samples showed “contamination may pose a risk to public safety” said the document.

Before it can reopen, the department ordered factory operators to ensure products meet safety standards, and to co-ordinate with officials to “solve the problem in a consistent and timely manner”.

The document, which was obtained by the ABC, also suggested distilleries may have to get permission in future to operate from the Ministry of Health.

The factory appeared abandoned when the ABC visited over the weekend. Stacks of empty bottles were hidden under blue plastic, and broken Tiger-branded bottles could be seen littered around the property.

Along with the distillery owner, police have now arrested three foreign nationals who were working at Nana Backpacker Hostel in tourist town Vang Vieng – where the six backpackers were staying when they were poisoned.

They include two Indian men, age 24 and 30, and a 25-year-old Filipino woman.

Five Vietnamese staffers were also arrested last week in relation to the deaths. No charges have been laid.

Australian teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, died in separate Thai hospitals after drinking “free vodka shots” laced with methanol on November 12.

Nana Backpackers Hostel served Tiger vodka on the night in question. Picture: Supplied

A document from the Laos government suggests the source of a methanol poisoning incident that killed six tourists is the rundown Tiger factory. Picture credit: ABC

British lawyer Simon White, 28, Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and American man James Louis Hutson, 56, also died around the same period after allegedly consuming the tainted spirits.

On Friday, Australian government website Smarttraveller urged tourists to avoid Tiger Vodka and Tiger whisky due to “serious safety concerns”.

“Lao authorities have issued an order prohibiting the sale and consumption of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky due to their concerns about these products being a health risk,” the warning read.

Duong van Huan, the owner of Nana Backpacker Hostel, previously told this masthead the poisonings did not come from his bar. He drank the spirits in front of reporters to prove it was not dangerous.

He is among the five Vietnamese nationals under arrest in Laos.

Originally published as Methanol deaths: Vodka factory shutdown and owner arrested