Eight hostel staff arrested in Laos after tourists die in suspected methanol poisoning

Workers at a backpackers hostel in Laos have been arrested after six tourists, including a British woman, died from suspected methanol poisoning.

Eight staff of the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng were detained for investigation. They are aged between 23 and 44.

Simone White, from Orpington, Kent, was one of those who fell ill earlier this month after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar and later died.

On Friday, the 28-year-old’s parents said they were “devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter”.

An American, two Danish citizens and two Australians have also died, following the suspected poisonings.

They are believed to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.

Vang Vieng is a town in Laos which is popular among backpackers.

Last Thursday, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed it was “supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities”.

The FCDO said it was also providing consular assistance to other British nationals being treated in hospital following the incident, as well as their families.

Holly Bowles and her friend Bianca Jones, both aged 19 and from Melbourne, also died after reportedly drinking methanol-laced vodka.

Staff at the Nana Backpacker Hostel were reportedly told by other guests that the pair had been unwell after they failed to check out as planned on 13 November and they arranged transport to hospital for them.

Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen were the other victims.

Explained: How dangerous is drinking methanol?

Duong Duc Toan, manager of the hostel, said the two Australians had two days earlier joined more than 100 other guests for free shots of Lao vodka offered by the hostel as a gesture of hospitality.

He said no other guest reported any issue, adding that the women had then gone for a night out, returning in the early hours of the morning.

It is not clear at what point they may have potentially consumed the tainted drinks.

The hostel has since been closed while police continue their investigation.

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Laos foreign ministry said the government has been “conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law”.

Australia, the US and Britain have warned tourists to be cautious when consuming drinks in Laos, where counterfeit alcohol brands pose a significant problem.

A GoFundMe page to raise awareness about methanol poisoning, in memory of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, has raised AUS$330,00 (£170,000).