Sixth person dies after suspected mass drink-spiking in Laos

An Australian teenager has become the sixth foreign tourist to die of suspected methanol poisoning in a backpacker hotspot in northern Laos.

Holly Bowles, 19, died in hospital the day after her best friend Bianca Jones lost her life in a separate Thai hospital.

The owner of the hostel they were staying at in Vang Vieng has been detained by Laotian police for questioning, Australian outlet ABC reported after an investigation was launched.

British lawyer Simone White, 28, died on Thursday after she was believed to have drunk the same shots laced with methanol on the night of Nov 12.

The father of Miss Bowles confirmed his daughter’s death on Friday. “It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.”

“We find comfort and solace in knowing that Holly brought so much joy and happiness to so many people,” Shaun Bowles told Nine News.

Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, said: “All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing.”

“Just yesterday, Holly lost her best friend, Bianca Jones,” Ms Wong said. “I know tonight all Australians will be holding both families in our hearts.”

The two friends, from Melbourne, had been mid-way through a “dream” trip in south-east Asia. They had been staying in a hostel in Vang Vieng and visited local bars the night before becoming critically unwell.

Staff at the Nana Backpackers Hostel found them in their room when they failed to leave on time.

The other victims, who were staying at the same hostel, included two Danish women in their 20s and an American man.

The Laos government said the suspected cause of their death was methanol poisoning.

At least 10 others, including other British tourists, became unwell after drinking in the same town.

They are believed to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is a cheaper alternative to the ethanol found in alcoholic drinks, but can cause severe poisoning or death.

Duong Duc Toan, the manager of the hostel, said he had served more than 100 guests on the night of Nov 12 with free shots of Lao Tiger vodka mixed with ice and Coke Zero.

But he denied that the alcohol was tainted, and said the hostel had not sold or given away drinks that caused the travellers to fall ill.

“We don’t do anything wrong, for sure,” Mr Toan told ABC, the Australian network. “I really take care of all of the customers [who] stay with our hotel and our hostel.”

Ms White, from Orpington in the London borough of Bromley, was taken to hospital following a night out with friend Bethany Clarke, a healthcare worker who is also from Orpington.

It is not clear when Ms White died or her cause of death. Her family were unavailable for comment when approached by The Telegraph on Thursday.

Ms Clarke, who was also treated in hospital, said her “liver started to shut down” after drinking free shots offered by one of the bars in Vang Vieng.

She warned other travellers to “avoid all local spirits” on a Facebook group for backpackers in Laos.

“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits,” she wrote. “Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.

“Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning,” she added.

A Foreign Office spokesman said on Thursday: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities.”

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