Australian teen dies from tainted liquor in Laos; fourth suspected victim

21/11/2024 18:16

        An Australian teenager died on Thursday after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol in Laos, Thai police and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, the fourth foreign national now suspected to have died in the incident.
        
        Bianca Jones, 19, fell ill last week in Vang Vieng, a town in the Southeast Asian nation popular with foreign backpackers that is about two hours north of the capital Vientiane by road.
        
        Police in the city of Udon Thani said, she died on Thursday after being taken to a hospital in neighbouring Thailand on November 13.
        
        Phattanawong Chanphon, a police official in the Thai city said, "The physician who examined her said the cause of death was a methanol poisoning, from fake liquor.".
        
        "The amount of methanol in her body was high, leading to swelling of the brain."
        
        Australian media said Jones was the fourth foreign tourist to die after consuming the contaminated alcohol, following two Danes and an American.