Laos hostel staff detained on suspicion of methanol death

Police in Laos have detained eight backpacker hostel workers after six backpackers died last week from suspected methanol poisoning.

According to local media, those detained include employees and management of the Nana Backpacker hostel in the city of Vang Vieng, where several of the tourists who later died stayed.

It is unclear how many other people have become ill, and an investigation into the deaths is ongoing.

The owners of the hostel, which is now closed, previously refused to serve illegal alcohol.

This is not the first time that the police have detained hostel staff. The manager was one of many people questioned by police last week.

He earlier he told the Associated Press the news agency reported that 19-year-old Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were the only people staying at the hostel who felt unwell after drinking free shots before leaving for the night.

The couple died a few days later – after being admitted to hospital in neighboring Thailand. These were the first deaths suspected to be caused by methanol – a toxic, tasteless and colorless substance commonly added to illicit alcohol.

Around the same time, two Danish women and a 57-year-old American who were also staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel died.

Two young Danes – Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman (20) and Freja Vennervald Sorensen (21) – were found unconscious in their hostel bedroom on November 13.

Local media reported that the same day, the Australian women were taken to hospital after going out to a bar in the city the previous evening.

They were sent to a hospital in the capital Vientiane, but died in the middle of the night. The medical team determined that the cause of death was sudden heart failure.

Also on November 13, the hostel staff noticed that an American tourist named James Louis Hutson had not left his room.

When they went to check on him, he was found dead on the bed, next to several empty drinking glasses. Local media reported that there were no bruises or wounds on his body.

Simone White, a 28-year-old lawyer from London, also died after it was believed she had consumed methanol while in Vang Vieng.

The tourists’ deaths have shone a spotlight on the popular tourist town and frightened tourists, especially women, as five of the six victims were women travelers.

Governments including New Zealand, Australia and the UK are warning their citizens against drinking spirits in Laos.

Some travelers in Vang Vieng are avoiding the once popular free shots and buckets of alcohol offered to tourists, says BBC that they feared for their safety.

Methanol poisoning is most widespread in Asiamainly affecting poorer communities and places with weak food regulations and enforcement.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Tuesday that another Australian with dual citizenship may also have fallen ill from methanol poisoning.

Authorities have confirmed that a New Zealander who fell ill due to suspected methanol poisoning has returned home.