A British woman claimed she lost her vision and became violently ill after drinking vodka at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos where six people have since died
A woman has claimed she went blind after drinking vodka shots at a backpacker’s hostel where tragedy struck just days later.
One British woman, 28-year-old lawyer Simone White, was among six people who died after a suspected methanol poisoning incident at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos last week. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed her death on Thursday.
Five others are currently known to have died after falling ill at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, including two Australian teenagers, an American and two Danish tourists. The Foreign Office said it was in contact with the local authorities regarding the British nationals affected.
Now, a tourist who was at the same hostel just days before has claimed she became violently ill after being given ‘free vodkas’ by bar staff – and even temporarily lost her vision. She spent the days after the shots going to and from the toilet vomiting while unable to see, and by the time she saw a doctor her heart rate had reached a dangerous 170 beats per minute.
She told the Herald Sun: “I just thought I was hungover, I spent the day going between my room and the toilet, just vomiting,’ . I had my eyes closed when I was walking to the toilet because I couldn’t see. I called my boyfriend and he said ‘please get some help, go to the hospital’.” After a terrifying walk to the hospital assisted by her friends, she was put on a saline drip for three hours before being discharged.
Police in Laos have detained the manager and owner of the hostel, while an officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office said a “number of people” had been taken in for questioning. The people in the incident are believed to have been served drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes used as a cheaper alternative to ethanol but can cause severe poisoning or death.
The manager of the Nana Backpacker Hostel, Duong Duc Toan, said staff were told by other guests that the women were unwell after they failed to check out as planned on November 13, and they arranged transport to a hospital for them.
He said the women had joined more than 100 other guests for free shots of Lao vodka offered by the hostel two days earlier.
It comes after a second Australian teenager became the sixth victim on Friday after her family confirmed she had died in a hospital in Bangkok. Holly Bowles, 19, had been in critical condition on life support following the poisoning in Laos more than a week ago.
