Two Australian women hospitalised after consuming cocktails at a five-star hotel in Fiji are stable and set to fly home, as the Pacific island nation's government insists the incident was "extremely isolated".
Four Australian women, aged between 18 and 56, were among seven people sent to hospital after drinking at a bar at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast on Saturday.
The group taken to hospital were drinking at the five-star Warwick Resort. (ABC News: Bose Vavataga)
David Sandoe said his daughter Tanya and granddaughter Georgia had been accompanied by Australian consular staff to the airport in Fiji and were due to arrive into Sydney this evening.
He told the ABC the pair were now doing "very well" given the circumstances.
"It's very difficult to take a call at 11 o'clock at night and your daughter and granddaughter are away — and your daughter says that they have been poisoned and they're in hospital," Mr Sandoe said.
"It is your worst nightmare."
David Sandoe says his daughter and granddaughter are coming home after falling ill in Fiji. (ABC News: Adam Griffiths)
Mr Sandoe said his relatives had "banded together" with another affected mother and daughter pair from Australia who had consumed a "similar cocktail".
Speaking earlier on Monday, Jemesa Tudravu from the Fiji Ministry of Health said the patients had suffered nausea, vomiting and "neurological symptoms".
"We don't have the cause of the incident yet, but our team is currently investigating," he said, adding that separate toxicology tests were being undertaken by the Fiji Police Force.
A statement from the Fijian government said all seven guests had been transferred to the Lautoka Hospital for "medical care, investigation, and management".
"We are glad to hear that they are stable and hope their conditions continue to improve," said a statement from Fiji's deputy prime minister and Minister for Tourism, Viliame Gavoka.
"This is an extremely isolated incident, affecting only these seven guests at a specific bar within the resort," he said.
"No other incidents have been reported either at the resort, or across Fiji."
The ABC was told that some of the guests started having fits, chills and tremors after drinking pina coladas at the Warwick Resort.
The Lautoka Hospital is treating people who authorities say experienced vomiting and "neurological symptoms" after drinking cocktails. (ABC News)
Australian travel advice for Fiji updated
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Photo shows People holding up alcoholic cocktails
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Carmel Marasco, a guest at the resort from Melbourne, told the ABC she was "quite upset" about the incident.
"I've been to the Warwick four times, I think, with my children and family, and it has never happened before," she said.
"I was sitting there the same day, drinking the same cocktail."
Federal minister Jason Clare told ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning that the incident in Fiji was "terrifying news".
A bar at the Warwick Resort in Fiji. (ABC News: Bose Vavataga)
"There's a real terrifying sense of deja vu, it's only a month ago two young Australian women died in Laos from methanol poisoning," Mr Clare said, referring to the deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles last month.
"When we wake up to hear this horrific news in Fiji, I'm sure all Australians have their heart in mouth and are hoping for the best."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said consular assistance was being provided to two Australian families in Fiji.
Three other people, understood to be two US nationals and a Fijian, also fell ill after drinking at the bar on Saturday night and were being monitored.
The Warwick Resort told the ABC it was still operational after the hospitalisation of its guests. (Facebook: Warwick Fiji)
Mr Gavoka, Fiji's deputy prime minister, said that being a tourist in the country was "typically very safe" and that the government sought to reassure international tourists that it was a "very isolated incident".
"As we approach the festive season, we always advise everyone to exercise the usual caution about what they consume," he said.
Earlier, the Warwick Resort told the ABC it was still operational after the hospitalisation of its guests.
"We don't have anything to disclose because the resort is under investigation," the resort's reception said
Australians experienced '''neurological symptoms''' at Fiji resort, health authorities say - ABC News