“We are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.” That was the statement from the family of Holly Bowles, 19, an Australian who died in a Bangkok hospital on Friday, more than a week after she fell ill in Laos. Her death brought the toll from a suspected mass poisoning of foreign tourists to six.
Bowles and her friend Bianca Jones, also 19, became sick on November 13 after a night out drinking with a group in the riverside town of Vang Vieng. They failed to check out of the Nana Backpacker Hostel as planned and were found ill in their room. Both were taken to Thailand for emergency treatment. Australia’s prime minister announced Jones’s death on Thursday. Thai authorities said she died of brain swelling caused by high levels of methanol in her system.
Bowles had been on life support in critical condition. Her family said they took comfort in how much “joy and happiness” she brought to people. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “All Australians will be heartbroken by the tragic passing of Holly Bowles.”
The other victims
Simone White, a 28-year-old British lawyer from south-east London, also died, the British Foreign Office said. Her family said they were “devastated by the loss of our beautiful, kind and loving daughter.” An American and two Danish women, aged 19 and 20, are among the dead too. Few details about them have come out. New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry said one of its citizens was sickened and may be a victim of methanol poisoning.
Detentions and silence
The hostel’s manager and owner are among a number of people detained for questioning. A tourism police officer in Vang Vieng told The Associated Press no charges had been filed. The hostel manager, Duong Duc Toan, said the two Australians had joined other guests for free shots of Laotian vodka before going out and coming back in the early hours. The hostel has said it gave free shots to around 100 guests that evening. Hostelworld has taken the property off its platform.
Where the victims were poisoned is not yet known. Symptoms can take up to 24 hours to appear. Methanol, a colourless and odourless substance, is sometimes added to drinks as a cheaper stand-in for ethanol, and it can also form in badly distilled homebrew. Specialists say as little as 25 millilitres can be fatal.
Laos has released almost no details. Its Foreign Ministry declined to comment, and health officials in Vang Vieng said they lacked permission to talk. The U.S. State Department issued a health alert for the town. Australia is pressing authorities there to be open about the investigation.
Backpackers on edge
Vang Vieng is a hub on the Banana Pancake Trail, the backpacker route across Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Natasha Moore, a 22-year-old from Manchester, said she cancelled her booking at the Nana hostel. “The general consensus is we’re all just really scared,” she told the BBC. She will now drink only sealed bottles.
Neil Farmiloe, a New Zealander who has lived in the town for 20 years and runs the Kiwi Kitchen restaurant, said many of his customers were very worried. “I think it’s never happened before, so it is hopefully just a one-off incident,” he said.
Sources
- Holly Bowles sixth to die of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos
- 6 tourists in Laos have died after drinking tainted alcohol
