Bianca and Holly were poisoned while partying in Laos. They lay alone for 24 hours

Melbourne teens Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were not seen for a day following a night out in Laos. When the best friends failed to check out of their hostel, staff knew something had gone wrong.

The 19-year-olds – in Vang Vieng on a South-East Asian backpacking trip – were discovered seriously ill in their room, victims of a suspected mass methanol poisoning that has killed at least two and sickened more.

On Tuesday, they were both on life support in separate Thai hospitals. Their parents and Jones’ brother have flown there to be by their bedsides.

Earlier that day, one of Bowles’ colleagues told this masthead of her concern for the young woman she described as an “absolute star” and a “bundle of joy”.

Cafe workers at Frank’s in Cheltenham, where Bowles has worked for more than two years, confirmed their colleague was one of the sick Australian women.

“She’s just an absolute star. She’s a bundle of joy. To know her is to love her,” said the cafe manager, who asked not to be named for privacy reasons.

“We’re just praying for the family. She’s just a loyal, caring, sweet person.”

Frank’s reopened on Tuesday morning after closing early on Monday when staff were upset by the news of their colleague’s illness.

Bowles completed VCE at Beaumaris Secondary College last year and was on a gap year. She wanted to work, save money and travel, the cafe manager said.

Jones is a university student after graduating from Mentone Girls’ Grammar, where she achieved a study score of 40 for global politics last year.

Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles are fighting for life in a Thai hospital.

A former Mentone classmate, who asked not to be named, described her as “such a sweet, funny, sarcastic and sassy girl with a huge personality”.

“She was very active in her house at school, competitive, athletic, yet still smart and determined.”

The school on Tuesday set up a quiet space on campus for current and past students to seek comfort from others.

Principal Natalie Charles said the school was trying to support the wellbeing of staff and students.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the beautiful Bianca and her family at this time, and we respect their public request for privacy,” Charles said in a letter to the school community.

Both teens play football for Beaumaris Football Club. President Nick Heath said on Tuesday that it was a difficult and unfolding situation.

He said the families had gone over to offer their support, with Bowles described as an “incredibly tough competitor” who was well-respected among her teammates. Her father was also an assistant coach at the club.

“We’ve got a very tight group of players at the footy club.”

Heath said the club would be supporting all the teammates.

“As a football club, we feel a little bit inadequate, a lot of their teammates are quite rightly distraught,” he said.

A worker at Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, who did not want to be named, confirmed to this masthead that the Australian women checked in on November 9.

They went out on the evening of November 11 with a group of young people, returning early the following morning.

The worker said the women did not get out of bed or leave their room the following day. The alarm was raised when they failed to check out as planned on the morning of November 13.

The women told staff they were sick and the hostel sought medical help, the worker said.

The manager of Nana’s denied wrongdoing on Tuesday, saying the women started the night drinking at the hostel but visited neighbouring bars before returning to the hostel to go to bed.

The bar attached to the hostel remained open on Tuesday and guests were permitted to book in for stays.

Local police in Laos told this masthead that much about what had occurred remained unclear and that the matter was still under investigation.

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, early symptoms may go unnoticed because they may closely resemble intoxication at first. Drinking as little as 25 millilitres of methanol can be fatal.

The colourless substance is sometimes added to alcoholic drinks 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.”

With Caroline Schelle

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