Thread: Melbourne teenagers critical in Thailand after suspected methanol poisoning

I thought you couldn’t taste the difference?

bld

I feel sorry for those young folk probably no drinkin experience and got caught up in the vibe of being in a cool place.

its called the stupidity of the naive bld.

protected all their lives from hurty words and bad things by cancel culture and nanny state interference these wrapped in cotton wool snowflakes find things are very different when the real world smacks them hard in the face.

happy hour for guests every night between 7pm and 9pm with free whisky and vodka on offer.

only the sunshine is free in s.e.asia

Originally Posted by Joe 90

Fvcking hell it was an expensive experience for my best mate.

He got a text 9 months later saying congratulations you're a daddy!!!
Needlessly to say he didn't believe it.

Ended up having £400 a month for 18 years extracted from his wages by the Child Support Agency.


Long story short!

Paid nearly £90 K for a shag that he doesn't remember and didn't even get to meet the offspring

The effects of methanol are terrifying

Evidently.

Briton, 2 Australians in intensive care after suspected alcohol poisoning in Laos

One British and two Australian tourists are seriously ill after drinking alcohol suspected of being tainted with poisonous methanol in a tourist town in Laos, after two young Danish women died, hospital sources told Radio Free Asia on Wednesday.


The British tourist is in intensive care in a hospital in the Lao capital, Vientiane, while the two Australians are in hospital in neighboring Thailand, the sources said. As many as nine other tourists were ill, media reported.


All of them were believed to have been in the Lao town of Vang Vieng, a favorite destination for backpackers in Southeast Asia.


The Lao government said it had not identified what killed the two Danish women and made the others sick.


“We acknowledged the incident but we do not have the autopsy and investigation results yet,” said an official at the Ministry of Public Security who declined to be identified, given the sensitivity of the matter.


RFA previously reported that tourists got sick after a late-night drinking session on Nov. 12, according to sources in Laos who declined to be identified.


A member of staff at the Kasemrad International Hospital Vientiane, said a tourist was admitted to the hospital last week.


“The British national is in ICU,” the female staff member told RFA, referring to the hospital’s intensive care unit. She declined to give further details about the condition or gender of the patient.


Two Australians, Holly Bowles and her friend, Bianca Jones, both 19, were in serious condition in Thailand - one in hospital in Bangkok and the other in the town of Udon Thani, near the border with Laos, Australian media reported.


A member of staff at the Bangkok hospital did not deny it was treating one of the tourists but declined to identify her or give details of her condition.


Australia’s 9News quoted Bowles’ father, Shaun, as saying his daughter was still fighting for her life.


“Our daughter remains in the intensive care unit, in a critical condition. She’s on life support,” he said.


Jones’ family said in a statement carried by Australian networks on Wednesday that she remained in intensive care in Udon Thani and they had received no update on her condition.


“This is every parent’s nightmare and we want to ensure no other family is forced to endure the anguish we are going through,” the family said.


The two best friends had been on a “dream getaway,” the family said in an earlier statement.

‘Profit over lives’


An official at the No. 103 Military Hospital in Vientiane told RFA on Wednesday the two unidentified Danish women had died of severe poisoning.


“The [first] woman passed away on the first day she was transferred from Vang Vieng, having breathing difficulties,” the official said. “The second woman was able to travel by herself in a car but finally succumbed.”


She said many other patients were referred to hospital elsewhere.


Most of the sick tourists - who included Danish and Swedish nationals - had been staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in the town, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, reported.


RFA spoke to Duong Van Huan, an owner of the hostel, who said that the poisoning did not occur at his bar.


“I don’t know much of what happened,” he said “They went to the bar and came back ... I only sent them to the hospital ... I don’t know which bar they went to - Vang Vieng has lots of them.”


A foreign businessman in Vang Vieng told RFA he thought there needed to be an international inquiry.


“From my opinion, this needs a lot of investigation by local and foreign officials,” he said. “The ones who are accountable will get what they deserve and send a very clear message to all bars and hostels that they should never make a small extra profit over lives.”


Police told RFA Lao they are investigating whether the source of the illness was methanol, a clear liquid that is often illegally added to alcohol as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. Even a small amount of methanol can be fatal.


A tourist took to a Laos Backpacker group on Facebook to post a warning.


“Urgent - please avoid all local spirits,” the tourist said. “Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it. 6 of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”


An official at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok declined to comment.

Access Denied

Much like the Doomtown Inn incidents here in Chiang Mai, I wouldn't be surprised if this disappears into the annals of history with the culprits getting off scot free.

So BLD is convinced he'd know the difference, tax has the crusty victim blaming take, and Joe...well.



TD.

Haven't you got some spell checking to do?

Sad story. Just youngsters.

Just read that one of the Aussie girls has died
.that brings it to 4 dead ( 2 danes) not sure the other Nationality and there is still about 10 kids sick.

Poor girls, tragic.

I can't say that I wouldn't have also fallen victim at the age of 19. From the West we just generally tend to trust people at that age.

I haven't had a Ya Dong since those people were poisoned in Bangkok a couple of months ago. No way could you taste methanol in that disgusting stuff - and you just can't trust anyone over here.

U.S. citizen dies in Laos amid reports that several tourists suffered alcohol poisoning

A U.S. citizen has died in a tourist town in the Southeast Asian nation of Laos following reports that multiple travelers suffered suspected cases of alcohol poisoning in the same town after possibly consuming tainted drinks.


A State Department spokesperson confirmed to CBS News that the death occurred in Vang Vieng.


"We are closely monitoring the situation and providing consular assistance," the spokesperson said, adding that local authorities were responsible for determining the cause of death. The victim's name was not provided.

MORE U.S. citizen dies in Laos amid reports that several tourists suffered alcohol poisoning - CBS News

I remember when they had all the bars set up along the river and we would go tubing stopping at every bar to drink. I was already considered an old fart and I saw a lot of risky behaviour by young travellers.. a lot of folk drowned as a result of getting so fucked up the first patch of rough flowing water would throw you out of your tube
.After complaints the Lao govt shut down all those river bars.and the backpackers gave it a swerve. These days there are bars all along the river but not nearly the same amount. I quite enjoy vang vieng and I've seen those backpacker places in town they are cheap and have swimming pools and nightly parties where " Buckets" are served. I think these backpacker hostels need to.accept some of the blame for encouraging this kinda behaviour. On the flip side the new highway from.vte to vang vieng gets you there in about 1.5 hours the new train gets you there in 1 hour
5 star hotels are springing up catering to Chinese and Koreans( and bld) fuck backpacking and hostels
Done that. I wonder what the lao govt stance will be this time.

So this raises the question what do you do if you suspect methanol poisoning if you are not near a hospital. The answer is: get a high-proof ethanol (vodka, etc) and immediately start drinking it to get drunk. Meanwhile, you can be making your way to a hospital to get complete management. The idea is to stay drunk for several days if you are not near a hospital. Otherwise, the hospital can manage the IV administration of ethanol to you so as to save your life. Hospitals have another antidote, fomepizole, in addition to IV ethanol, but it is very expensive and many hospitals do not carry it.


The enzyme, ADH, that breaks down methanol into toxic metabolites can be interrupted by ingesting ethanol. This is because ADH prefers ethanol and when the ethanol is there, the methanol is less likely to be broken down into its terrible metabolites. This is why some methanol poisonings are not fatal—because the drinkers were ALSO drinking ethanol. They are the lucky ones. The ones drinking only methanol have a much graver prognosis.

If you cannot make it to a hospital soon it would be a good idea to call a poison control center, such as California Poison Control, open 24 hours, and they can aid you in how to properly stay drunk for whatever number of days they recommend. 1-800-222-1222

Following quote is from Goldfranks Manual Of Toxicologic Emergencies 2007 Edition. Chapter on Toxic Alcohols pgs 804-808 and chapter on Ethanol 813-816.

If there will be any delay in obtaining ethanol for intravenous use (for methanol poisoning), oral therapy with ethanol should be initiated immediately. (pg 816)

Also important is to replenish body fluids by making homemade Gatorade—Oral Rehydration Solution. In one liter of water put two TABLEspoons of sugar and one-half TEAspoon of salt. Drink this frequently. When you get to a hospital they will give you IV Saline (salt water intravenously).

cyrille

tax has the crusty victim blaming take,

Originally Posted by Mendip

Poor girls, tragic.

From the West we just generally tend to trust people at that age.

- and you just can't trust anyone over here.

A sad story, but as i have already said, accepting free drinks in SE Asia, from whatever source is never a good idea, the only thing free in SE Asia is the sunshine. Western travellers, protected from "hurty things" in their home countries for most of their lives have become far too trusting, too naive to see and be aware of the darker side of human nature, a side that in SE Asia is untroubled by the boundaries that often, but not always, curb it in more regulated environments.

Cheap or free alcohol is cheap or free for one reason only, it has been manufactured and sold by corrupt profiteers without any regard to the health and safety of those who consume it. SE Asia is the real world, unregulated, selectively policed, exciting and often eye opening, but it is not London, Sydney or New York and the terminally naive will soon find themselves devoured by their inexperience, their guileless childlike simplicity and their search for that killer selfie.

It has taken 4 or 5 deaths, but many others will learn from this and be safe.

Fair enough tax I suspect the lao or local govt will do fuckall but at least social media might stop these young folks making the same mistake. I find it fucking abhorrent but also doesn't surprise me. Lao is still quite economical fucked up after covid. The kids in free fall actually it's a wonder why anyone would accept free drinks when most currencies turn you into an instant millionaire

The wife just mentioned this and said it's getting zero media coverage in Laos. No surprise. It's getting plenty in Oz though

^
in the UK too.

Cheap or free alcohol is cheap or free for one reason only, it has been manufactured and sold by corrupt profiteers without any regard to the health and safety of those who consume it

stop blowing hot air.


its cheap because fewer or no government taxes

willy, when it comes to familiarity with cheap booze, moonshine, abbo rotgut and dossers plonk, your expertise, your knowledge and your reknowned virtuosity on the subject is well known to down and outs worldwide, but in this case you know jack shit and then some.

Cheap booze, nope.