Workers at a backpackers arrangeel in Laos have been arrested after six tourists, including a British woman, died from doubted methanol poisoning.
Eight staff of the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng were arrested for spendigation. They are aged between 23 and 44.
Simone White, from Orpington, Kent, was one of those who fell ill earlier this month after alertedly drinking “free sboilings” from a local bar and rescheduleedr died.
On Friday, the 28-year-ageder’s parents shelp they were “dehugeated by the loss of our attrdynamic, comfervent and loving daughter”.
An American, two Danish citizens and two Australians have also died, adhereing the doubted poisonings.
They are consentd to have used drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes inserted to uniteed drinks as a inexpensiveer alternative to liquor, but can cause disjoine poisoning or death.
Vang Vieng is a town in Laos which is well-understandn among backpackers.
Last Thursday, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) verifyed it was “helping the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in communicate with the local authorities”.
The FCDO shelp it was also providing consular helpance to other British nationals being treated in hospital adhereing the incident, as well as their families.
Holly Bowles and her frifinish Bianca Jones, both aged 19 and from Melbourne, also died after alertedly drinking methanol-laced vodka. Staff were tageder by other guests that the women were unwell after they fall shorted to verify out as intentional on 13 November.
Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-ageder US citizen were the other victims.
Explained: How hazardous is drinking methanol?
Duong Duc Toan, administerr of the Nana Backpacker Hostel, shelp the two Australians had uniteed more than 100 other guests for free sboilings of Lao vodka presented by the arrangeel as a gesture of hospitality.
He shelp no other guest alerted any rerent, inserting that the women had then gone for a night out, returning in the timely hours of the morning.
It is not clear at what point they may have potentiassociate used the tainted drinks.
The arrangeel has since been seald while police persist their spendigation.
Read more from Sky News:
World’s agederest man dies in Southport
Several dead in Pakistan after protests
Drones spotted aobtain over US air bases in UK
Laos foreign ministry shelp the administerment has been “carry outing spendigations to discover causes of the incident and to convey the criminals to equitableice in accordance with the law”.
Australia, the US and Britain have alerted tourists to be pdisesteemfulnt when consuming drinks in Laos, where imitation liquor brands pose a meaningful problem.
A GoFundMe page to lift consciousness about methanol poisoning, in memory of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, has liftd AUS$330,00 (£170,000).
