Aussie teen dies in Bangkok after Laos poisoning, 4 dead

[snoop1130]

 

One of the Melbourne teenagers on an idyllic backpacking adventure in Asia has died in a Bangkok hospital from a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos.

 

Bianca Jones, a 19 year old Australian tourist, became the latest person to die from a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos after drinking vodka shots. The Aussie teen’s death is the fourth in just over a week, with police scrambling to investigate the deadly trend sweeping the town of Vang Vieng.

 

Jones’ family confirmed the tragic news today, November 21, just hours after the US State Department revealed an American man had also died in the same area. Meanwhile, two young Danish women, aged 19 and 20, met a similar fate last week, sparking fears that a batch of toxic, bootleg alcohol could be to blame.

 

Jones’ friend, 19 year old Holly Bowles, is currently in critical condition in Bangkok, along with a British woman, as both fight for their lives on life support.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his sorrow for the teenager’s death.

 

“Our first thoughts at this moment are with her family and friends who are grieving a terrible and cruel loss. This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure.”

 

 

Jones and Bowles were reportedly staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, where the hostel manager told the Associated Press that over 100 guests were offered free shots of Lao vodka.

 

The manager said no other guests reported health issues but confirmed the hostel has now ceased giving out free alcohol amid the police investigation.

 

Australian and UK police have issued urgent warnings to travellers about the dangers of methanol poisoning in Laos, advising caution when consuming alcohol in the country.

 

Methanol, unlike ethanol found in standard alcoholic drinks, is highly toxic and often used by bootleggers to increase alcohol content cheaply but with lethal results.

 

In recent years, methanol poisonings have claimed lives across the globe, with mass deaths reported in India, the Philippines, and Peru, reported BBC News.

 

Jones’ family has requested privacy as they mourn, thanking supporters for the “overwhelming support, love, and prayers.”

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of Herald Sun via Yahoo News

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-11-21

 

 

[Jessi]

R.i.P.

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

is highly toxic and often used by bootleggers to increase alcohol content cheaply

 

Nonsense. It's added by poisoners who want to kill people.

 

 

 

[Nick Carter icp]

23 minutes ago, ukrules said:

 

Nonsense. It's added by poisoners who want to kill people.

 

 

 

 

   I doubt very much that their intention was to deliberately kill people .

Why would they want to do that ?

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

 

   I doubt very much that their intention was to deliberately kill people .

Why would they want to do that ?

 

Agreed....  its more likely the methanol was an accidental bi-product of a bootlegged booze production. 

 

This was obviously a tragic mistake - where bootleggers screwed up...   but the real issue is that so much bootlegged booze is allowed in the first place.

 

Its one of the reasons I get annoyed when I have a 'fake Whisky' etc..   which, based on experience is extremely common in the bars...

 

After a certain point I just can't drink any more bottled beer and fancy a Whisky instead - in good bars thats fine, but I'm not always in good bars - I'm out in 'other places' and want a Whisky, on ice.. (JW black).. then I taste it and realise its bootlegged fake Whisky...   and this annoys me as a few of these and the hangover will be worse.

 

 

I remember being in a bar and having a Gin&Tonic...  the taste was horrific... I asked for the Gin bottle, smelt it and it was Tequila !!!... they'd been decanting gin.. hopefully just the cheapest legitimate gin into the bottle and not bootlegged on an industrial level Gin...  but, this time they made a mistake and decanted the wrong clear liquid !!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[georgegeorgia]

It's about time Australian PM Anthony " it ain't easy under Albanese" done something!! 

 

I have written him a email with 3 words 

"Anthony ,do something!!

[ukrules]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

This was obviously a tragic mistake - where bootleggers screwed up...   but the real issue is that so much bootlegged booze is allowed in the first place.

 

The article specifically states this :

"Methanol, unlike ethanol found in standard alcoholic drinks, is highly toxic and often used by bootleggers to increase alcohol content cheaply but with lethal results."

which implies it was added deliberately by someone and that this is a normal kind of thing for bootleggers to do. It's not.

Why would someone do this deliberately?

 

Well it's been done before by a government (10,000 dead from it) I might add, see here : https://slate.com/technology/2010/02/the-little-told-story-of-how-the-u-s-government-poisoned-alcohol-during-prohibition.html

[Patong2021]

And once again, the nasty old blowhards are out in full force to blame the victims.

Methanol is a common event in South Asia. This has been reported on and documented. For example, Giovanetti F. Methanol poisoning among travellers to Indonesia. Travel Med Infect Dis. 2013;11(3):190–193. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2013.03.013.

Westerners who come from countries where  there is regulation and a degree of quality assurance do not appreciate that South Asia is the region where anything can go, and where alcohol that is dispensed from a name brand brand bottle can be bootleg counterfeit and deadly.

 

The extent of poisoning is intentionally suppressed as it would destroy the tourist trade in many regions.

 

2 hours ago, ukrules said:

Nonsense. It's added by poisoners who want to kill people.

The intent may not be to poison or to kill. Unfortunately, like all counterfeit products in Asia, the goal is to make a quick profit. The suppliers of the products have no care for product quality or assurance.

 

55 minutes ago, Sandboxer said:

lol, morons

 

That  comment is more appropriate for a judgemental person who ridicules without knowing the extent of the problem , nor the manner in which it occurs. The kids who were poisoned were typical of their age group. To call them morons , aside from being heartless and cruel says alot about you.

 

 

To all those criticizing the victims, why not look at your own local bars and see if you can determine if the liquor dispensed is  bonafide. Don't be so arrogant to  believe that some operators don't substitute counterfeit versions.I can think of one bar that had the same vodka bottle on its shelf for years. The owner would refill it from a plastic bottle.

[hotchilli]

Sad loss 

[newbee2022]

9 hours ago, ukrules said:

 

Nonsense. It's added by poisoners who want to kill people.

 

 

 

I don't think so that Laotians did it intentionally to kill these young women. 

The incident might have happened by mistakes during distillation or any lack of knowledge about Methanol.

But we don't know the circumstances.

[SHA 2 BKK]

It happened here too - remember a few months back?  

 

 

"The number of people killed from drinking herbal liquor spiked with a composition of methyl alcohol rose by two more to six on Wednesday morning, the Public Health Ministry said.

The Medical Services Department said it had received reports that two more people had died on Wednesday – one in hospital and another at home.

The department said that so far, 37 people have come out to seek medical treatment since the first case was reported on August 19.

 

As of Wednesday morning, 22 people affected by the bootleg alcohol were still in hospital and nine have been discharged. The department said 11 were being treated at the Nopparat Rajthanee Hospital, one at Lerdsin Hospital, one at Rajvithi Hospital and nine others at private hospitals. Of the patients still in hospital, seven are on ventilators, the department added."

 

https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40040974

[carlyai]

Happens in Bali too.

[john donson]

alcohol kills... this case,  drunk driving, friends drinking and ending up stabbing to death, wife beaters

 

alcohol your friend

[Andrew Dwyer]

A 28 year old Brit becomes the 5th victim.

 

Briton Simone White dies after suspected mass poisoning in Laos https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx27wyrxz9yo

[Presnock]

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

 

One of the Melbourne teenagers on an idyllic backpacking adventure in Asia has died in a Bangkok hospital from a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos.

 

Bianca Jones, a 19 year old Australian tourist, became the latest person to die from a suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos after drinking vodka shots. The Aussie teen’s death is the fourth in just over a week, with police scrambling to investigate the deadly trend sweeping the town of Vang Vieng.

 

Jones’ family confirmed the tragic news today, November 21, just hours after the US State Department revealed an American man had also died in the same area. Meanwhile, two young Danish women, aged 19 and 20, met a similar fate last week, sparking fears that a batch of toxic, bootleg alcohol could be to blame.

 

Jones’ friend, 19 year old Holly Bowles, is currently in critical condition in Bangkok, along with a British woman, as both fight for their lives on life support.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed his sorrow for the teenager’s death.

 

“Our first thoughts at this moment are with her family and friends who are grieving a terrible and cruel loss. This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure.”

 

 

 

Jones and Bowles were reportedly staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, where the hostel manager told the Associated Press that over 100 guests were offered free shots of Lao vodka.

 

The manager said no other guests reported health issues but confirmed the hostel has now ceased giving out free alcohol amid the police investigation.

 

Australian and UK police have issued urgent warnings to travellers about the dangers of methanol poisoning in Laos, advising caution when consuming alcohol in the country.

 

Methanol, unlike ethanol found in standard alcoholic drinks, is highly toxic and often used by bootleggers to increase alcohol content cheaply but with lethal results.

 

In recent years, methanol poisonings have claimed lives across the globe, with mass deaths reported in India, the Philippines, and Peru, reported BBC News.

 

Jones’ family has requested privacy as they mourn, thanking supporters for the “overwhelming support, love, and prayers.”

 

By Puntid Tantivangphaisal

Photo courtesy of Herald Sun via Yahoo News

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-11-21

 

 

JUst in case one doesn know it, ethanol-alcohol is the only alcohol one can drink but ethanol is poisonous to the human body if in certain amounts.  Thus drinking alcohol can be dangerous immediately as opposed to long term liver damage and death.  I feel sorry for the parents of those teenagers that were fed that poisonous brew in Laos as well as those who died and hope the ones only made sick recover completely and wiser now.

 

[Hakuna Matata]

1 hour ago, newbee2022 said:

I don't think so that Laotians did it intentionally to kill these young women. 

The incident might have happened by mistakes during distillation or any lack of knowledge about Methanol.

But we don't know the circumstances.

 

Probably, they made it from cassava which, unlike alcohol made from molasses, is notorious for relatively high methanol content unless the heads and tails are separated properly.

 

https://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17025

 

Quote

I too was confronted with the cyanide poison problem. It seems there are different varieties of cassava, being either "sweet", where the cyanide has been breed out to great extent and "bitter", which would get the bitterness from the cyanide which supposedly is bitter to the taste, like the seed of some fruit. The sweet variety has something like 50 times less cyanide than the bitter but still requires some processing to rid it of the cyanide. The bitter variety are likely from wilder cultivars and the root skin contains a milk that is very high in cyanide. The bitter variety is the most cultivated as they yield bigger roots.
 

 

[Rimmer]

An inflammatory post has been removed and replies, you will be hearing from me later today for your totally nasty and out of order comment.

@Sandboxer

[BritManToo]

So far 6 dead, 11 on ventilators, 9 sent home.

You gotta be careful out there, bucket cocktails were always risky.

[Rimmer]

Please continue reading the topic in the World News HERE

 

//CLOSED//

[snoop1130]

Laos factory owner arrested in methanol poisoning tourist tragedy

By Bob Scott

 

Picture of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles courtesy of the Daily Mail

 

In a chilling case that has sent shockwaves across the globe, police in Laos arrested the owner of a factory believed to be the source of a deadly methanol poisoning incident that tragically claimed the lives of six foreign tourists. The factory, situated on the outskirts of Vientiane, the capital city, is suspected of producing toxic batches of the local favourites, Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey.

 

The victims, including Melbourne teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, two Danish women, 20 year old Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and 21 year old Frela Vennervald Sorensen, a 57 year old American named James Louis Hutson, and 28 year old British lawyer Simone White, fell ill after consuming the lethal concoctions in Vang Vieng. This bustling tourist town, located 129 kilometres north of Vientiane, is now the chilling scene of this tragic tale.

 

The victims had all been staying at the Nana Backpackers Hostel, where police have clamped down, arresting eight staff members as part of the ongoing investigation. Jones and Bowles were rushed to separate hospitals in Thailand on November 13 but, tragically, neither survived. Jones passed away surrounded by loved ones at Udon Thani Hospital, while Bowles succumbed in Bangkok Hospital.

 

Laos police acted swiftly, shutting down the dilapidated factory and imposing an immediate ban on Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey. The Ministry of Health’s Department of Food and Drugs has confirmed that the ban will remain in effect “until the manufacturer improves the factory production process to ensure safety and quality according to standards,” as reported by ABC.

 

Currently, the factory stands deserted, with blue plastic tarps draped over piles of empty bottles and the remnants of a small fire visible outside. Tiger Whisky packaging lies amid the debris, serving as a grim testament to the ongoing investigation.

 

Police have arrested 12 people connected to the tainted alcohol. Among them, two Indian men, aged 24 and 30, and a 35 year old Filipino woman working at the hostel where Jones and Bowles stayed were apprehended last week, although no charges have yet been filed.

 

The factory where the illicit bootleg alcohol was made. Picture courtesy of the Daily Mail
 

In response to the crisis, SmartTraveller updated its travel advice on November 19, urging holidaymakers to steer clear of the dubious drinks due to “serious safety concerns.”

 

The advisory highlighted an order from Lao authorities prohibiting the sale and consumption of the suspect spirits over health risks.

 

The bodies of Jones and Bowles were flown back to Melbourne on November 26, where grieving family and friends awaited their return. The tragedy unfolded after the pair were found unresponsive in their rooms following an evening spent at Nana’s bar and nearby Jaidee Bar.

 

Mark Jones, Bianca’s father, has called for accountability and justice in what he sees as a preventable tragedy.

 

 

“I was heartened to hear that there’s been some action in Laos, but I will continue to push our government to take firm steps against those responsible. We cannot let our girls’ deaths be in vain and allow this to continue.”

 

In a chilling revelation, it has emerged that several travellers had attempted to warn others via Google reviews to avoid Nana Backpackers Hostel.

 

Their warnings, which could potentially have saved lives, were swiftly removed.

 

“Do not go here!! They have methanol in their drinks and me and 3 others have been hospitalised because of this.”

 

Another shared the dire effects they experienced, and a third spoke of hearing “several stories of people who ended up in the ICU or even died.”

 

Nana Backpackers Hostel, in damage-control mode, allegedly dismissed the claims as “slander,” asserting their commitment to guest safety.

 

“Our hostel has been operating for five years, and during this time, we have always prioritised the safety and well-being of our guests. We take any claims like this very seriously.”

 

As the investigation unfolds, questions remain about how such a tragic oversight could occur and what measures will be implemented to prevent future calamities.

 

The Daily Mail reached out to Google for a comment on the removed reviews but has yet to get a reply.

 

Source: The Thaiger

-- 2024-12-02