Laos police have reportedly arrested eight people in relation to a suspected mass methanol poisoning that killed two Melbourne teenagers, as it’s confirmed a third Australian has fallen ill.
The head of security forces of Vang Vieng district Phut Buathong Boriban reportedly told local media eight staff members, including management, from NANA Backpackers Hostel, where all of the six victims are understood to have stayed, have been detained amid investigations.
The eight men from Vang Vieng are aged between 23 and 47 years old, according to Laos media outlet Laophattana News.
Today it was revealed a third Australian had fallen victim to what is believed to have been a mass-poisoning event.
It’s understood the Department of Foreign Affairs is supporting a dual national who is in a stable condition.
It was also working with families, authorities and third parties to repatriate the bodies of best friends Jones and Bowles back to Australia from Thailand, where they died in separate hospitals.
US man James Louis Hutson, 57, British lawyer Simone White, 28, and Danes Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Frela Vennervald Sorensen, 21 have been named as the other victims of the suspected poisoning.
It’s understood some guests at NANA Backpackers Hostel had been given free shots at the hostel bar on November 11, before a number of backpackers, including Bowles and Jones, continued onto other bars.
Bowles and Jones then stayed in their hostel room for the whole day on November 12 and failed to check out as scheduled on November 13.
They were rushed to hospital after raising the alarm about their conditions with hostel staff.
It is believed all six victims consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is not intended for consumption and is frequently used as fuel and in products such as antifreeze.
