Several hostel staff have been detained
Eight people who worked at a hostel in Laos have been arrested after six tourists died of suspected methanol poisoning.
According to the Metro, several members of staff from the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng have been arrested but no charges have been brought yet.
Six tourists died and ten others remain seriously ill after consuming homemade alcohol.
The guests were reportedly given free shots at the hostel bar on November 11 before they fell ill.
The head of security forces in the Vang Vien district Phut Buathong Boriban said eight staff members from NANA Backpackers Hostel, where the victims were staying, have been arrested.
Methanol is often sold to tourists as a legitimate drink but just 4ml can cause blindness while a 30ml measure – the size of a UK shot – can be lethal.
British lawyer Simone White from Kent became ill after taking the shot. Initial reports suggested she was recovering from the poisoning but it was later confirmed she had died.
Two Danish women in their twenties and a 56-year-old American man also passed away.
Two Australian friends, Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, also passed away.
Dr Yaher, from the district hospital in Vang Vieng, was the first medical professional to treat Bowles.
He told the Times: “She was confused and she was sleepy. We asked her what she had eaten or drunk, but she didn’t know what had happened.”
After just 30 minutes she suffered a seizure and fell into a coma.
The Laos government have previously offered their ‘deepest condolences’ to the families of the six victims and promised to bring the perpetrators ‘to justice’.
