An ambulance drives past Bangkok Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, where 19-year-old Holly Bowles became the second Australian to die from a suspected tainted alcohol poisoning incident at a backpacking resort in Laos last week that has so far claimed six lives. Bowles was transferred from a Laos hospital along with traveling companion and fellow Australian Bianca Jones after their conditions deteriorated. Jones died Thursday followed by Bowles on Friday. Photo by Rungroj Yongrit/EPA-EFE
Australian teenager Holly Bowles, 19, became the sixth person Friday to die in a suspected tainted alcohol incident in northern Laos.
Bowles’ family said they were “devastated” as they confirmed the death of the teen who had been hospitalized in intensive care since she was taken ill on Nov. 13 in Vang Vieng, a small backpacking resort about 60 miles north of the capital Vientiane, Advertisement
Bowles’ death came a day after traveling companion, Australian Bianca Jones, also 19, died on Thursday after drinking what was believed to be liquor laced with methanol at the same establishment in the town.
Australia’s ABC News reported that both women died in the hospital in Thailand where they were transferred after their conditions worsened with Thai police confirming Jones’ cause of death as methanol poisoning.
Bowles’ family said in a statement that they were taking solace from the memory of the “joy and happiness she brought to so many people,” adding that she had been chasing her dream “traveling through South East Asia meeting new friends and enjoying incredible experiences.” Advertisement
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said her death would impact the whole country.
“All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing of Holly Bowles. I offer my deepest sympathies to her family and friends,” said Wong.
On Thursday, the death of the fifth victim, Simone White, a 28-year-old lawyer from London, was also confirmed by British officials who said she had been killed by suspected methanol poisoning.
“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, as we are in contact with local authorities,” the Foreign Office said in a statement to media outlets.
White was an associate attorney specializing in intellectual property and technology law and was employed in London by the Cleveland, Ohio-based Squire Patton Boggs law firm.
The announcement came after the U.S. State Department confirmed an American had also died in Vang Vieng.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance,” a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed in a statement to The Guardian. The spokesperson would not state if methanol was involved, stating that local authorities were “responsible for determining the cause of death.”
Two other victims have been identified as Danish women aged 19 and 20. Advertisement
The BBC reported that at least one other Briton, a woman, was believed to be in the hospital after becoming ill in the same incident, while Dutch and New Zealand authorities said they were monitoring incidents involving their citizens.
Australia’s ABC News reported that police have arrested the owner of the Nana backpacker hostel where the two young Australians were staying and which is alleged to have served the pair free drinks before they went out for the evening.
ABC said the hostel had denied the drinks responsible came from its bar.
A friend of White’s named Bethany Clarke said White was among a group of six people who became ill and were hospitalized after drinking at the same bar in Vang Vieng.
Clarke in an online post warned others to “avoid all local spirits” in Vang Vieng.
“Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” Clarke said. “Six of us who drank from the same place are in [the] hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
Much is unclear about the situation, but both the British and Australian governments are warning citizens traveling to Laos to beware of beverages tainted by methanol, an industrial chemical — an odorless, colorless liquid used in paint stripper, insecticide and dyes — that is often used to adulterate counterfeit alcohol. Advertisement
“Several foreign nationals, including Australians, have been victims in November 2024 of suspected cases of methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks,” the Australian government’s Smartraveller website states. “Be alert to the potential risks, particularly with spirit-based drinks including cocktails.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announcing to Parliament on Thursday that the Department of Foreign Affairs had confirmed that Jones had died, saying it was “beyond sad” that what should have been the experience of a lifetime had ended in tragedy.
“This is every parents’ every worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” Albanese said. “Bianca’s trip should have been a joyous time and a source of fond memories for years to come — memories that she should have carried with her into the long bright future that lay ahead of her. It is beyond sad it is not to be.”
Police have told Radio Free Asia that they are investigating if methanol was the source of the illnesses
