Police in Laos have arrested the manager and seven other workers at a backpacker hostel following the death of six guests due to suspected methanol poisoning.
Tourists – two Australians, two Danes, an American and a Briton – died earlier this month after apparently drinking contaminated alcohol in the town of Vang Vieng. Many stayed at the Nana Backpacker hostel.
It is not clear how many other people are sick.
The deaths cast a spotlight on the popular backpacker town and shocked tourists, especially women, as five of the six dead were female travellers.
Several governments, including New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, have warned their citizens against consuming spirits in Laos.
Last week, 19-year-old Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles died days after being admitted to a hospital in neighboring Thailand. It was their first death allegedly caused by methanol, a toxic, tasteless and colorless substance often added to bootleg alcohol.
Then Danish authorities reported the deaths of two women, aged 19 and 20, who died in Vang Vieng earlier this month. A 57-year-old American man was also found dead in Vang Vieng.
And last week, a 28-year-old London barrister, Simone White, died after she was believed to have ingested methanol.
The owners of the Nana Backpackers hostel, which has now closed, had denied serving illegal alcohol.
Some travelers in Vang Vieng shy away from the once-popular free shots and buckets of alcohol handed out to tourists, he told the BBC that they feel worried about their safety.
Methanol poisoning is most common in Asiawhich particularly affects poor communities and areas with weak food laws and enforcement.
A New Zealander who fell ill due to suspected methanol poisoning in the country has now returned home, authorities said.
Source link
