{"id":179833,"date":"2024-11-21T18:24:06","date_gmt":"2024-11-21T18:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/21\/british-tourist-who-fell-ill-from-methanol-poisoning-dies-after-free-shots-giveaway-in-laos-resort\/"},"modified":"2024-11-21T18:24:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-21T18:24:06","slug":"british-tourist-who-fell-ill-from-methanol-poisoning-dies-after-free-shots-giveaway-in-laos-resort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/11\/21\/british-tourist-who-fell-ill-from-methanol-poisoning-dies-after-free-shots-giveaway-in-laos-resort\/","title":{"rendered":"British tourist who fell ill from methanol poisoning dies after ‘free shots’ giveaway in Laos resort"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A British tourist being treated after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos has died, according to UK officials.<\/p>\n

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.<\/p>\n

Four people had already died following the suspected poisonings – an Australian named Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne, as well as two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen.<\/p>\n

They are believed to have consumed drinks tainted with methanol, which is sometimes added to mixed drinks as a cheaper alternative to alcohol, but can cause severe poisoning or death.<\/p>\n

“We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities,” the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The FCDO said it was also providing consular assistance to other British nationals hospitalised in the incident, as well as their families.<\/p>\n

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\n Bianca Jones, a 19-year-old from Australia, also died
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Explained:<\/strong>
What is methanol, how does it end up in alcoholic drinks, and how can you avoid it?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ms White was an associate lawyer specialising in intellectual property and technology and worked at the London office of the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs.<\/p>\n

Her work involved general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues, according to the firm’s website.<\/p>\n

Bethany Clarke, a friend of Ms White and a healthcare worker, also from Orpington, said a group of six people had been taken to hospital after drinking from the same bar.<\/p>\n

She posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers after the group fell ill.<\/p>\n

“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”<\/p>\n

‘Every parent’s very worst fear’<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed to his country’s parliament that 19-year-old Bianca Jones had died after being evacuated to a Thai hospital from Vang Vieng.<\/p>\n

Thai authorities confirmed Jones had died of “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system”.<\/p>\n

Her friend Holly Bowles, also 19, remains in hospital in neighbouring Thailand, Mr Albanese said.<\/p>\n

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Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player<\/p>\n


\n \"Holly
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Laos methanol poisonings – what we know<\/span>
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Australian officials said “several foreign nationals” had also been victims of methanol poisoning<\/p>\n

“This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” Mr Albanese said.<\/p>\n

“We also take this moment to say that we’re thinking of Bianca’s friend Holly Bowles who is fighting for her life.”<\/p>\n

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‘Her incredible spirit touched so many lives’<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a statement to the Melbourne Herald Sun newspaper, Ms Jones’ family paid tribute to her.<\/p>\n

“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us,” the family wrote.<\/p>\n

“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”<\/p>\n

The US State Department confirmed an American had also died in Vang Vieng, and Denmark’s Foreign Ministry said two of its citizens had also died in “the incident in Laos”.<\/p>\n

Neither would comment directly on a link to methanol poisoning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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A British tourist being treated after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos has died, according to UK officials. Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, fell ill after reportedly drinking “free shots” from a local bar in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers. Four people had already died following the suspected poisonings – […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/11\/768x432\/skynews-laos-bianca-jones_6753251.jpg?20241121104823","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[14,16,2437,508,18028,23807,25666,70526,1077,64245,23098,18908],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179833"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179833"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":179835,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179833\/revisions\/179835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}