Six foreign tourists have died after consuming drinks suspected to be laced with methanol in Vang Vieng, Laos. The latest fatality, 19-year-old Australian Holly Bowles, passed away on Friday in a Thai hospital, just days after her friend Bianca Jones, also 19, died in Udon Thani. The deaths of two Danish nationals, an American, and British lawyer Simone White, who also fell ill after consuming the toxic alcohol, have raised alarms about the prevalence of methanol poisoning in the region. Eleven others remain hospitalized.

Authorities have detained the manager and owner of the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, where the victims had been staying, but no charges have been filed. It’s suspected that the poison was introduced during a party at the hostel, with many tourists attending social gatherings in the town. Methanol is a cheap substitute for ethanol in bootleg liquor and can cause fatal poisoning, even in small amounts. According to experts, methanol poisoning is common in Southeast Asia, where bootleg alcohol is prevalent.

Experts have confirmed that the symptoms and timing of the illnesses point to methanol poisoning. Professor Knut Erik Hovda from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) stated that when people drink and get sick in large numbers, it is likely to be methanol unless proven otherwise. Methanol, a toxic substance often added to illegal alcohol, can cause severe health issues, including blindness, organ failure, and death. Laos has seen increasing cases of methanol poisoning in the past, with incidents in neighboring countries like Indonesia, India, and Cambodia as well.

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