Phi Phi Tourist Deaths Possibly Food Poisoning

[LivinginKata]

Monday, May 25, 2009

Phi Phi tourist deaths possibly food poisoning

The Laleena guesthouse on Phi Phi Don Island, Krabi.

The area behind the guesthouse on Phi Phi Island, which is national park land.

PHUKET CITY: The mysterious deaths of two female tourists on Phi Phi Island earlier this month were possibly caused by food poisoning, preliminary lab findings suggest.

Krabi Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Pasin Noksakul told the Gazette today that researchers at the Police Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok have found signs of microbial infection in blood samples taken from the bodies of 27-year-old Jill St Onge from the US and Norwegian Julie Bergheim, 22.

Gen Pasin said results from the Forensics Institute were preliminary and not yet official. He was unable to say whether the infectious agent or agents were viral or bacterial, but said he was told by the institute that both women’s blood contained microbes consistent with those that cause food poisoning, likely from contaminated seafood.

The two women, who stayed in adjacent rooms at the Laleena guesthouse on Phi Phi Don Island at the beginning of May, died within hours of each other at Phi Phi Island Hospital after severe vomiting.

In blood samples taken from Ms Bergheim the researchers found three different kinds of potentially harmful microbes, while blood samples from Ms St Onge had only one, he said.

Although it is not normal procedure to release results until they are official, Gen Pasin said he wanted to quell widespread speculation over the cause of the deaths on Internet blogsites and chat forums.

Such theories have included exposure to toxic gas from a nearby wastewater treatment plant, problems with the air conditioning in the guest rooms, accidental overdoses of the 4 X 100 drug cocktail that has been gaining popularity in the south over the past year and even murder by poisoning.

The Forensics Institute is continuing to study the microbes to positively identify them and test their virility, he said.

“I don’t know when the official results will be released, but the commander of the Royal Thai Police has ordered the lab work expedited because the embassies of the two deceased tourists want to know the cause of the death as soon as possible,” he said.

Gen Pasin ruled out the possibility that [methane] gas emanating from the nearby wastewater treatment plant might have been the cause, saying the plant had been in the area for a long time with no ill effects on local people or tourists.

“Had a dangerous gas spread into the guesthouse, many more people would have been affected,” he said.

http://www.phuketgazette.net/'>– Kamol Pirat

[Mobi]

Thailand tourist's lung tissue 'gone' after mysterious death

By Patrick Oppmann. CNN.

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- A pathologist hired by the family of one of two women whose mysterious deaths in Thailand drew worldwide attention says her "lungs were 100 percent congested," Jill St. Onge's fiancee and brother said.

"He said her lung tissue was gone," said her brother, Robert St. Onge.

The pathologist has not determined what caused her lungs to fail, he said, and a final report on her May 2 death may still be weeks away.

But members of St. Onge's family said they feel the pathologist's findings, though preliminary, are enough to contradict public statements made by Thai investigators that St. Onge was the victim of food poisoning.

"I am 99.9 percent sure she did not die of food poisoning," said Ryan Kells, St. Onge's fiancee, who was with her when she died. "She suffocated to death. I am not a doctor, but I know when someone can't breathe."

Kells and St. Onge, both artists from Seattle, were on a three-month vacation through Southeast Asia when they arrived on Thailand's Phi Phi Island.

They had gotten engaged while on the trip and were keeping friends and family up to date with their adventures.

Don't Miss

* Deaths at Thai resort trouble family, investigators

* Seattle woman died mysteriously at Thai resort

"Having a blast," Jill St. Onge, 27, wrote about the surroundings in a blog dedicated to the couple's travels. "Food, drink, sun and warm waters ... what else do ya need?"

The couple's vacation ended tragically when Kells found his fiancee in their hotel room vomiting and unable to breathe. He rushed her to a hospital where she died.

St. Onge was healthy and there was no obvious explanation for her sudden death, her brother said.

Just hours after St. Onge fell ill, Julie Bergheim, a Norwegian tourist who was staying in a room next to St. Onge's at the Laleena Guesthouse, came down with similar symptoms. She also died.

According to Thai media reports, police there are focusing on food poisoning as the cause of the women's deaths. On Monday, the Phuket Gazette quoted a police commander as saying blood samples from both women indicated possible food poisoning from seafood.

Still, the commander said, those results were only preliminary. "I don't know when the official results will be released," Maj. Gen. Pasin Nokasul told the newspaper. "The lab work [is being] expedited because the embassies of the two tourists want to know the cause of death as soon as possible."

Kells response to Nokasul's statement was harsh.

"That she died of food poisoning is a ridiculous statement to make," he said, adding it is unlikely they would have been "the only ones affected."

Dr. William Hurley, medical director for the Washington Poison Center, is also skeptical that food poisoning could have been responsible. In food poisoning cases, he said, "usually what kills you is the dehydration, not the toxin."

He added, "Food poisoning is not something that typically kills someone this quickly. It takes days."

Ingestion of a variety of chemicals could have caused Onge and Bergheim's sudden deaths, Hurley said, and could be consistent with the condition of Onge's lungs. But without further information, he said, it is impossible to say what killed the two women.

Kells said he thinks something in the hotel where they were where staying made Jill sick. He remembers a "chemical smell" in the room and thinks he avoided becoming ill because he spent less time in the room.

On Saturday, the Phuket Wan newspaper reported that investigators that visited the Laleena Guesthouse, taking samples and removing filters from the air conditioning units in the rooms where both victims had stayed.

Rat Chuped, the owner of the hotel, told the newspaper her property was not to blame. "There is no problem with my guesthouse," she said

[trvlbum]

Thailand tourist's lung tissue 'gone' after mysterious death

By Patrick Oppmann. CNN.

SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) -- A pathologist hired by the family of one of two women whose mysterious deaths in Thailand drew worldwide attention says her "lungs were 100 percent congested," Jill St. Onge's fiancee and brother said.

"He said her lung tissue was gone," said her brother, Robert St. Onge.

The pathologist has not determined what caused her lungs to fail, he said, and a final report on her May 2 death may still be weeks away.

But members of St. Onge's family said they feel the pathologist's findings, though preliminary, are enough to contradict public statements made by Thai investigators that St. Onge was the victim of food poisoning.

"I am 99.9 percent sure she did not die of food poisoning," said Ryan Kells, St. Onge's fiancee, who was with her when she died. "She suffocated to death. I am not a doctor, but I know when someone can't breathe."

Kells and St. Onge, both artists from Seattle, were on a three-month vacation through Southeast Asia when they arrived on Thailand's Phi Phi Island.

They had gotten engaged while on the trip and were keeping friends and family up to date with their adventures.

Don't Miss

* Deaths at Thai resort trouble family, investigators

* Seattle woman died mysteriously at Thai resort

"Having a blast," Jill St. Onge, 27, wrote about the surroundings in a blog dedicated to the couple's travels. "Food, drink, sun and warm waters ... what else do ya need?"

The couple's vacation ended tragically when Kells found his fiancee in their hotel room vomiting and unable to breathe. He rushed her to a hospital where she died.

St. Onge was healthy and there was no obvious explanation for her sudden death, her brother said.

Just hours after St. Onge fell ill, Julie Bergheim, a Norwegian tourist who was staying in a room next to St. Onge's at the Laleena Guesthouse, came down with similar symptoms. She also died.

According to Thai media reports, police there are focusing on food poisoning as the cause of the women's deaths. On Monday, the Phuket Gazette quoted a police commander as saying blood samples from both women indicated possible food poisoning from seafood.

Still, the commander said, those results were only preliminary. "I don't know when the official results will be released," Maj. Gen. Pasin Nokasul told the newspaper. "The lab work [is being] expedited because the embassies of the two tourists want to know the cause of death as soon as possible."

Kells response to Nokasul's statement was harsh.

"That she died of food poisoning is a ridiculous statement to make," he said, adding it is unlikely they would have been "the only ones affected."

Dr. William Hurley, medical director for the Washington Poison Center, is also skeptical that food poisoning could have been responsible. In food poisoning cases, he said, "usually what kills you is the dehydration, not the toxin."

He added, "Food poisoning is not something that typically kills someone this quickly. It takes days."

Ingestion of a variety of chemicals could have caused Onge and Bergheim's sudden deaths, Hurley said, and could be consistent with the condition of Onge's lungs. But without further information, he said, it is impossible to say what killed the two women.

Kells said he thinks something in the hotel where they were where staying made Jill sick. He remembers a "chemical smell" in the room and thinks he avoided becoming ill because he spent less time in the room.

On Saturday, the Phuket Wan newspaper reported that investigators that visited the Laleena Guesthouse, taking samples and removing filters from the air conditioning units in the rooms where both victims had stayed.

Rat Chuped, the owner of the hotel, told the newspaper her property was not to blame. "There is no problem with my guesthouse," she said

please read the following conversation from a friend that was there.excuse the XXXX as the persons wishes to remain anonymous:

and the 2 girls were staying in rooms right next to each other

it's right in front of the sewage treatment plant

I think (and I'm trained very well about it from XXXX) it was a bubble of H2S gas

I talked to a dive instructor that help take Jill to the hospital

he says she was suffocating

and there was a gurgling noise when she tried to breath

and he has been trained very well in the workings of the respiratory system

there is more new stories if you google it

think of what would happen to Ko Phi Phi if they announced that it was the islands sewage treatment plant that killed them

[steelepulse]

Does Hydrogen Sulfide eat away the lungs?  I couldn't find anything that says it can, but I've always suspected it was some sort of lethal gas that caused these deaths.

[angiud]

I want to signal a news about a kuwaiti girls death for respiratory problems in Phuket after a trip in Koh Phi Phi. The today news is on a site that not agree the link with Thaivisa.

What it worry me is the similarity with the other unfortunate deaths.

[phuketrex]

Latest from Rob, Jills' brother>>>

Another death, and an update.

In light of this new article of a Kuwaiti girl that died mysteriously after visiting Phi Phi Island I thought I should update this blog.

Our heart goes out to the family. There truly is nothing worse. There are no words that will ease there pain.

Second-The Thailand autopsy report is a joke. It was about three pages long and most of it was margin space and emblems. I believe here in the states an autopsy report starts at around 20 pages, and for something like what happened to Jill would be much longer.

It did verify that there were NO drugs or alcohol in her system, so those bogus rogue Thailand reports from "Government officials" can be put to rest. The only bit of information we got out of it was a low level of the enzyme Acetylcholinesterase. Please take a look at this Wiki page about what could cause this enzyme to be lowered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acetylcholinesterase_inhibitor

We are still waiting for some more reports to be translated from Thailand, and we have been in contact with Julie's family (the young lady that also died in the same guest house).

I'll post again when there is something else.

Posted by RobbAce at 1:24 PM

[Valentine]

So sad to learn about another girl who died after being on Phi Phi who I think was just there for a day trip. If this girl is found to have the same poison in her body then the only conclusion can be there is malicious intent in these unfortunate deaths. The odds of these being coincidental must be extremely high & surely after the initial publicity everyone would take great care to ensure there were no tainted water bottles.

I do not believe H2S to be the cause as this gas is heavier than air so even if a bubble broke the surface one would have to be very close to where it broke. A large enough dose of H2S will kill quite quickly & it usually happens in confined spaces such as storage tanks. When you can smell H2S it it is generally not in a large enough concentration to kill. In large concentrations you cannot smell it as one of the effects is it completely dulls your sense of smell.

[MisterMan]

Did they find poison in anyone's body?

Why was Jill cremated and not autopsied in America?

Sad but not surprising to hear the Thai autoposy report was a joke.