'Mass methanol poisoning' which killed six could claim more lives

Eleven backpackers remain in hospital fighting for their lives after drinking lethal shots in a 'mass methanol poisoning' in Laos which has killed six others. 

British lawyer Simone White, 28, from Orpington in Kent died after drinking free shots allegedly laced with deadly methanol. 

Ms White was an associate lawyer specialising in technology and intellectual property at the London office of the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs.

After completing her A-levels at St Olave's Grammar School, she studied law at Newcastle University before taking the fast-track course at the BPP law school. 

She was among six foreign tourists who have died from a suspected mass incident of methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng. 

In addition to the six deaths, 14 tourists who had been drinking in the party town developed methanol poisoning within days of each other. 

And about 11 other foreign nationals remain in hospital fighting for lives. 

It is not yet clear how and where the victims were poisoned.

Ms White's friend, Bethany Clarke, a healthcare worker also from Orpington, took to the Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers.

She said: 'Urgent — please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.

'Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.'

Sue White, Simone's 'devastated' mother, shared how her 'kind, fun-loving' daughter and friends took 'six shots' each, watered down with Sprite, before falling ill and having 'trouble breathing'.

She told The Sun how Simone and two friends took themselves to hospital the day after, but were 'dismissed' by medics, who told them they had food poisoning.

By the time an ambulance arrived to take them on to a private facility, Simone was already 'delirious', her mother said, adding 'I think, basically, it had already affected her brain'.

Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both aged 19, died following a night out in the party town of Vang Viang this month after drinking tainted alcohol.

The friends, who were on holiday on the island, became ill and failed to check out of Nana Backpacker hostel on November 13. 

Jones and Bowles were evacuated to Thailand after asking hostel staff for help and died in separate Bangkok hospitals a week later with loved ones at their bedsides.  

American tourist James Louis Hutson, 57, was found dead inside his room at the Nana Backpacker Hotel in Vang Viang on November 13. 

According to the Vientiane Times, workers at the hostel had entered his room after realizing he had not left all day and found him unconscious.

The outlet reported that he was taken to hospital, with police finding four empty bottles of beer and two empty bottles of vodka in his room. 

Meanwhile, horrific details have emerged about the two Danish women, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, who died, as it was revealed the pair were vomiting blood for hours after consuming the drinks.

The disturbing final moments were a world away from the picturesque travel photo they shared days earlier after the pair happily posed with friends while in Vietnam.

The Danish girls, originally from Roskilde, a town of around 53,000 people 35km west of Copenhagen, were avid travellers.

After graduating from high school in June last year, they spent time exploring Italy and Hungary before saving up for a big 2024 trip around South East Asia.

In September, the pair spent time travelling around Thailand, before venturing on to Cambodia, then journeying to Vietnam, before making their way to Laos. 

Shortly after the poisoning a man who shared a mutual friend with Ms Sorensen and Ms Coyman posted a warning online, urging other travellers to be cautious about their drinks.

'The past few days I have been busy with a Belgian friend looking for two girls he travelled with,' the man wrote.

'For more than 72 hours, no contact could be made while they had agreed to meet in Vang Vieng.

'The strange thing was that their last message was that they had both been vomiting blood for 13 hours... They have both since died.'

According to local police reports obtained by the Sydney Morning Herald, Ms Sorensen and Ms Coyman drank at the hostel before going to local bars on the evening of November 12.

They arrived back around midnight but spent the entire next day in their room, before they were discovered about 6pm lying on their bathroom floor unconscious.

They were taken to Vang Vieng Hospital in a coma before being transported to a hospital in the capital of Vientiane. They were reportedly declared dead at about 3.30am on the 14th.

The Laos government has recently broken its silence on the mass poisonings and vowed to 'bring the perpetrators to justice'.

Officials said they were 'deeply saddened' and extended their 'deepest condolences' to the families of the victims. 

'The government of the Lao PDR is profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng District, Vientiane Province and expresses its sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,' the statement read. 

'The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law.

'The government of the Lao PDR reaffirms that it always attaches the importance and pays attention to the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists.'  

Following news of Ms Jones' death, local police attended Nana Backpackers to question employees.

Police demanded to see which spirits were used by bar staff on the night Ms Jones and Ms Bowles were provided free cocktails, The Herald Sun reported.

Laos Police were seen talking to employees and inspecting bottles of spirits inside the bar during their visit to the hostel.

The hostel owner, Duong Duc Toan, is reportedly among 'a number of people' who have been detained by police for questioning, but no charges have yet been filed.

But he and the hostel's bartender Toan Van Vanng denied any alcohol served at their bar had been contaminated or diluted with methanol.

Toan said he bought the alcohol from a certified distributor and that free shots of Tiger Vodka had been served to around 100 guests.

The manager said he had yet to received any complaints from other backpackers who been given shots on the night.

To prove his point, he even drank from one of the vodka bottles that were in use on the night to prove it was safe.