Police ordered back to hostel at centre of Australian poisoning tragedy

Bangkok/Vang Vieng: Laotian police have returned to the backpacker’s hostel at the centre of the drink poisoning tragedy that has claimed two lives and left two Australians critical.

Grave fears are held for Australian backpackers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones as they continue to receive specialist treatment in separate Thailand hospitals after the incident that has already claimed the lives of two young Danish women.

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

Bowles remained in Bangkok on Wednesday. Jones was receiving treatment in the northern city of Udon Thani, but the hospital told this masthead on Wednesday she was no longer there.

The police response to the tragedy until now has been tepid, and authorities have not released any information publicly; the group Reporters Without Borders describes Laos as “an information black hole”.

But the case has reached the highest levels of the Laotian government, according to officials, and police have been ordered to return to Nana Backpacker Hostel and investigate further. A police chief was among the group of officials at the hostel on Wednesday morning. They seized bottles of alcohol for testing in Vientiane.

The chain of events and where each sick or dead person had been drinking remained unclear. The manager of Nana, where the two Australians were staying when they became critically ill, said earlier in the week that he served the pair free shots of local vodka, but denied this was what made them sick.

Hostel manager Duong Duc Toan said other guests notified staff that the Melbourne teens were unwell. They failed to check out as planned on November 13, and he said the hostel then arranged hospital transport for them.

The 19-year-olds’ 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. At least 10 other people have 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. Police on Wednesday took alcohol from the same stockpile.

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 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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