Foreign victims killed in mass methanol poisoning identified
The victims of the mass methanol poisoning in Laos have been identified, with the death toll now rising to six.
Danish women Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and American man James Louis Hutson, 57, were among those who died after a group of backpackers consumed alcoholic drinks spiked with methanol in the party town of Vang Vieng.
Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, had already been named as two Melbourne teenagers who lost their lives last week while on their gap year, along with British woman Simone White, 28.
Ms Jones and Ms Bowles were staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel, which has been closed since November 14th, just days after the incident occurred.
It is understood that the two Danish and American victims were also staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel.
Ms Coyman and Ms Sorensen were reportedly found unconscious on the bathroom floor on November 13th after they had been out drinking the night before.
Mr Hutson was reportedly found unconscious in his bed on November 13th after staff noticed he had not come out of his room.
All three tourists died in the following days in hospital.
Dr Yaher, who first treated Ms Bowles in Vang Vieng, claimed she went from a state of confusion to a coma in just half an hour after consuming the methanol-laced beverage.
The doctor told The Times she was confused and fatigued, and didn’t know what had happened when she arrived at his small one-storey hospital at 2am.
“We treated her symptomatically,” he told the publication.
“We put her on an IV drip and gave her vitamins. But after 30 minutes she had a seizure and went into a coma. I was so surprised. We gave her CPR, because she had difficulty breathing, and we intubated her and referred her to Vientiane.”
The Laos government released a statement on Saturday expressing sympathy and condolences to the families of the tourists who died, saying an investigation was underway and promised to “bring the perpetrators to justice according to the law”.
Image credits: Facebook