Sixth tourist dies in Laos after 'toxic vodka shots' as hostel owner arrested

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The family of a teenager has confirmed that she is the sixth tourist to have died after drinking suspected methanol poisoned alcohol in Laos.

Australian teen Holly Bowles, 19, had been in a critical condition in hospital in Bangkok for days following the poisoning in Laos more than a week ago.

Her family released a statement, read aloud by Australian broadcaster Network 10, which said: "We are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace."This comes after her friend, Bianca Jones, also 19, died earlier this week, alongside British woman Simone White, 28, an American man and two Danish tourists, following reports that several people had become ill in a Laotian town popular with backpackers.Laotian police earlier detained the manager and owner of a hostel involved in the case, with an officer at Vang Vieng's Tourism Police office confirming that a "number of people" had been detained in the case, but no charges have been filed yet.The manager and owner were among those taken in for questioning, confirmed by staff at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which is still operating but not accepting new guests.The US State Department issued a health alert for citizens traveling in Laos, warning of "suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly through the consumption of methanol-laced alcoholic drinks", following similar alerts from other countries whose citizens were involved.

The Foreign Ministry has refused to comment, and in Vang Vieng, the small hospital where some of the victims are believed to have been treated initially, referred all questions to the town's health office on the hospital grounds.