Toxic drinks kill tourists in Laos

Methanol poisoning kills six tourists - 16th December 2024

The deaths of six tourists in Laos are being attributed to methanol poisoning after consuming drinks at the Nana Backpacker Hostel bar in Vang Vieng. Visiting from Australia, Denmark, the UK and the USA, the backpackers were taking in the sights of Vang Vieng valley in central Laos.

A destination for many making their way around Southeast Asia, Vang Vieng’s many hostels vie for business, some drawing in potential guests with the promise of happy hours and alcoholic drinks on the house. Such offers stretch tight budgets and police suspect some drinks at the Nana Backpacker Hostel had been watered down and their alcoholic content boosted with methanol.

Despite being a toxic solvent, pesticide and fuel deadly to humans, methanol costs less than ethanol, which is safe to add to alcoholic drinks, and it’s therefore chosen by some to illegally increase the alcohol content of cut-price drinks. While the Nana Backpacker Hostel management denies drinks had been tampered with, police have mandated its closure as their inquiries proceed. Eight staff from Vietnam have been arrested, together with two Indian men and a woman from the Philippines.

Some hypothesise that the local Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey brand is the source of the poison since traditional brewing techniques can be responsible for the presence of methanol in drinks. Depending on the types of plant materials applied and the microbes used in the fermentation process, this can reach toxic levels.

The six victims and an additional six who survived after being in a critical condition, were all thought to have consumed these beverages. As a precaution, the authorities in Laos have banned the sale of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey, concerned that they could pose a risk to life.

Concern over the dangers that methanol poses have led the grieving families of friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, to set up a GoFundMe page. Donations received will boost educational initiatives that raise awareness of the risks associated with methanol.

Meanwhile, the Australian government’s updated travel advice on its Smartraveler website, warning people to steer clear of spirits, cocktails and homemade alcoholic drinks due to the higher chance of them being subject to methanol contamination.