A second young Australian tourist died in a Thai hospital on Friday, bringing the death toll from a suspected methanol poisoning during a night out in Laos to six.
A British lawyer has become the sixth person to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos. Simone White, 28, from Orpington in south-east London, was among those taken to hospital after the incident in the tourist town of Vang Vieng last week.
Other British tourists are among those being treated in hospital after they were allegedly served alcoholic drinks containing deadly methanol. At least six British nationals required treatment. White worked as an associate at international law firm Squire Patton Boggs, whose work includes general commercial matters as well as intellectual property rights.
Two Australian teenagers, an American and two Danish tourists aged 19 and 20 also died after the incident in Vang Vieng, a city particularly popular with tourists looking for parties and extreme sports.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told parliament that Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne, died after being evacuated from Wang Vieng for treatment at a Thai hospital. Thai authorities said Jones died from “brain oedema caused by high levels of methanol found in her system.” The death of her friend Holly Bowles, who was also 19, was confirmed by her father.
Methanol is toxic to humans. The incident highlighted the dangers of methanol poisoning in Southeast Asia, where it is the cultural norm to make counterfeit alcohol from ingredients such as rice and sugar cane, sometimes mixed with the spirit as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. Experts estimate that Asia has the highest prevalence of methanol poisoning in the world, with fatal incidents previously reported in Cambodia, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Viet Nam and Indonesia.
