By New York Post (World News) | Created at 2024-11-23 01:35:06 | Updated at 2024-11-23 04:53:10
3 hours ago
Employees of a Laotian hostel were detained after an American tourist and five others died from suspected methanol poisoning following a night of drinking tainted booze.
The owner and manager of the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng were among a “number of people” being questioned by police as a sixth tourist – an Australian teen – perished Friday from consuming the methanol-laced alcohol, according to the Associated Press.
American James Huston, 56, Danish women Anne-Sofie Coyman, 20, and Feja Sorensen, 21, Australian students Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, and British lawyer Simone White, 28, are among the victims who died this week, according to the Times.
White, along with the two teens, are believed to have died from methanol poisoning, while the cause of death for the American and two Danes have not yet been confirmed.
“Simone was one of a kind and had the most wonderful energy and spark for life. She was a soul who gave so much to so many and was loved by her family, friends and colleagues,” White’s family said in a statement issued by law firm Squire Patton Boggs, where she worked as a lawyer.
“Our hearts go out to all other families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.”
Most of the victims were staying at the hostel — located in one of the poorest nations in southeast Asia — where they are known to have downed free shots of vodka handed out by the manager before hitting the town on Nov. 12.
Methanol is sometimes illicitly used as a cheap substitute for real ethanol — the compound found in typical alcoholic beverages — with the practice sometimes occurring in places like southeast Asia, where taxes on ethanol are higher.
As little as .85 ounces can be fatal, and lead to blindness, seizures, and asphyxiation.
In the case of Jones, she died of “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system,” according to officials at the Thai hospital where she and the other victims were taken.
“Drink spiking and methanol poisoning are far too common in many parts of the world,” Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong said.
Detained manager Duong Duc Toan insisted investigators cleared the safety of his spirits before giving out free shots to more than 100 guests the night of the poisoning.
“The police in Vang Vieng and [the capital] Vientiane already came to the hostel to check, the shop [where] we buy the vodka, check the shop [where] we buy the whiskey,” he said.
“We don’t do anything wrong, for sure. I really take care of all of the customers [who] stay with our hotel and our hostel,” Toan said, adding that police advised every hotel and bar in the town to stop serving alcohol.
The hostel remains open but is not accepting any new guests, as a growing list of countries, including the US, warn tourists of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking the contaminated alcohol in the popular tourist destination, according to the outlets.
An officer with the town’s tourist police said that no charges have been filed yet.
