Latest news with #NanaBackpackerHostel
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Blow to families after staff who served methanol laced drinks that killed Brit lawyer & 5 other backpackers in Laos FLEE
STAFF members who served a Brit backpacker and five other tourists deadly drinks laced with poison in Laos have sparked outrage by fleeing the country. The cruel twist came after 6 Staff members who served Brit Simone White and five other poison-laced alcohol have fled the country Credit: PA 6 The Nana Backpacker Hostel, in Vang Vieng, Laos, where six backpackers died after drinking tainted alcohol laced with methanol Credit: Enterprise 6 Duong Duc Toan, the manager of Nana Backpackers hostel where the victims were staying According to the Herald Sun, at least two employees who were "detained" following the Tragic Simone was among five other backpackers who also lost their lives after Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19 and from Australia, as well as two young women from All of them were staying at the hostel along with 100 more guests. READ MORE WORLD NEWS After hearing that two of the suspects had fled Laos, Bianca's dad told the Herald Sun: "We want the Australian Government to apply as much pressure as they can to bring justice to all those involved in the methanol poisoning of our girls, the Danish girl and the British girl in Laos." The group died after they consumed vodka and whiskey laced with deadly methanol at the Nana Backpackers hostel in the town of Her mum Most read in The Sun She said she feared Simone would die after being called by the hospital who told her she needed emergency brain surgery. After arriving at Laos hospital Sue was given the devastating ultimatum over whether to leave her daughter on life support or not. Brit lawyer Simone White, 28, dies in 'methanol-laced alcohol poisoning' that left 4 others dead in backpacking hotspot Doctors refused to switch off the machine due to their religion - but told Sue she could do it herself. The distraught mum said she had to take a tube out of her dying daughter's mouth before making the incredibly painful and "traumatic" decision to switch off the machine. Simone's No charges have been made six months after the fatal ordeal, despite Laotian authorities reportedly preparing charges for up to 13 people. The 13 suspects have been accused of violating food and health security, unlawful business operations and the elimination of evidence, according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs. It comes just weeks after the families of Bianca and Holly, who died from suspected methanol poisoning, slammed cops over 6 Laos methanol poison victim, Simone White, with her mum Sue 6 Sue revealed her daughter's final message in an interview alongside Simone's friend Bethany Clarke Credit: 60 Minutes Australia 6 The two teens tragically died just days after the shocking incident. Holly's mother told 60 Minutes: "[The charges are] pretty appalling, I'd say pretty insulting.' Bianca's furious mum added: 'I think we're pretty furious about it … Food and beverage. "You know, that's like? What is that? We don't even know." The parents also said they had written to Laos Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone 'a million times'. The desperate parents claimed to have even contacted his wife, but still say they have not received a response. Why is methanol so deadly? By Sam Blanchard, Health Correspondent METHANOL is a super-toxic version of alcohol that may be present in drinks if added by crooks to make them stronger or if they are brewed or distilled badly. The consequences can be devastating because as little as a single shot of contaminated booze could be deadly, with just 4ml of methanol potentially enough to cause blindness. Prof Oliver Jones, a chemist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, said: 'The body converts methanol to formic acid. 'Formic acid blocks the action of an enzyme that is critical to how the body uses oxygen to generate energy. 'If it stops working, cells cannot take up or use oxygen from the blood and lack of oxygen causes problems in a range of organs as the cells start to die. 'Symptoms of methanol poisoning include vomiting, seizures and dizziness. 'The optic nerve seems to be particularly vulnerable to methanol toxicity, so there is the potential for temporary or permanent blindness, and even death. 'While thankfully rare, methanol poisoning is very serious, and treatment should be given at a hospital.' An unexpected but key way of treating methanol poisoning is to get the patient drunk with normal alcohol - known as ethanol - to distract the liver and stop it processing the methanol.
9 News
10-05-2025
- Health
- 9 News
Methanol poisoning in Laos killed Bethany's best friend. Now she's calling for change
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here A British woman who survived a methanol poisoning in Laos that killed two Australians is pushing for more education on the dangers of bootleg alcohol. Bethany Clarke has returned to Brisbane, grieving the loss of her best friend in the tragedy . CCTV footage captured British best friends Bethany Clarke and Simone White with a group of young travellers laughing and drinking at happy hour at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Laos. CCTV footage captured British best friends Bethany Clarke and Simone White with a group of young travellers laughing and drinking at happy hour at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Laos. (Nine) "We had around five to six vodka shots, which we mixed with Sprite, and I went to bed, I think at about 10.30pm," Clarke told 9News. Within 24 hours, the pair were among at least a dozen to fall critically ill, including two Australian teenagers. "Within 24 hours, she'd gone into respiratory distress, and then that culminated in her having seizures and everything," Clarke said. Bethany and Simone had been friends since childhood. The London-based lawyer even visited Brisbane to see her best friend's newly adopted home in 2023. Now, Bethany is on a mission to educate others on the dangers of methanol. Bethany (right) and Simone (left) had been friends since childhood. (Nine) Doctors without Borders estimates that methanol poisoning accounts for more than 14,000 deaths globally in the last 30 years. The symptoms at first can be similar to those of having too much to drink - nausea, vomiting and stomach pains, but they escalate quickly. It's most prevalent in countries with relaxed liquor laws, where it's sometimes added to alcohol. "If it were in the education system, then we could prevent history from repeating itself as it has done again and again and again," Clarke said. Bethany Clarke is on a mission to educate others on the dangers of methanol. (Nine) Queensland's education minister, John-Paul Langbroek, says students are taught about the dangers of alcohol. "If there needs to be some tweaking about specific topics, for example, this issue of methanol poisoning, which is something that's come up relatively recently, then that's something that we can always look at," he said. Bethany wants Simone's legacy to be saving others. "Simone had so much more to give, so it's that's why I'm doing what I'm doing because I know that she would have done this for me," she said. national Poison Laos Australia Brisbane queensland CONTACT US
News.com.au
04-05-2025
- News.com.au
Bethany Clarke opens up about final moments with best friend Simone White before horror death in Laos
When Bethany Clarke first made plans with her best friend Simone White to meet halfway between Australia and the UK to start the trip of a lifetime together — Cambodia was the destination the pair landed on first. Seasoned travellers who had already explored China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Vietnam together, venturing to Cambodia before moving north across the border into Laos was the perfect pairing. Given its popularity for backpackers exploring Southeast Asia, Bethany and Simone arrived in Vientiane briefly before their arrival into party-town-turned-outdoor-lovers-paradise, Vang Vieng. The pair organised some of the more popular activities offered in Vang Vieng – including tubing down the Nam Song River and a visit to the picturesque (albeit overly popular) Blue Lagoons. After arriving into the once notorious party town, and having spent most of the day meeting new people and drifting down the river — the friends made their way to their accommodation in town, Nana Backpacker Hostel. In a state of 'cognitive decline' The pair decided to take part in the hostel's 'happy hour' downstairs from their room, to enjoy a few drinks with some of their fellow travellers. Speaking to from her home in Brisbane, Bethany Clarke said what unfolded over the next 24 hours she wouldn't wish on her worst enemy. When they got to the hostel's bar just after 8pm on November 19, the pair consumed between five and six vodka shots served by the hostel, which they mixed with a bottle of Sprite and some ice cubes they also purchased from the bar. At the time, Bethany and Simone thought nothing of the drinks. They tasted fine, perhaps a little diluted but there was no reason for concern. But as the night moved on, and by the next morning — the pair started to feel an illness that to this day, Bethany cannot quite explain. 'At about quarter past 10 … maybe half 10 … I decided I'd had enough,' Bethany said. 'I don't know whether I was already starting to get the fatigue [of the methanol poisoning] or whether it was jet lag, but I decided to go to bed and the others went on to an Irish bar. The Irish bar was the one that we'd been to the night before, so we knew that [bar] was absolutely fine.' Bethany said her mate Simone arrived back to their room just after midnight, and went to sleep. The next morning, the pair woke to take part in a pre-booked kayaking tour and visit the famous Blue Lagoons which they'd both been looking forward to. 'We woke up and felt slightly off … one of our friends described it as feeling drunk,' she said. 'But … I feel like when you're drunk, you are happy. And this was a bit more … I don't know, just a sense that there wasn't something quite right and you couldn't put your finger on what it was. You would never feel as fatigued as we felt that day.' The pair pushed through, but within hours their condition got progressively worse — particularly for Simone with a loss of appetite and an inability to swim. 'We were in a state of cognitive decline, so we weren't really thinking, we weren't able to think clearly,' she explained of their deterioration. 'That was one of the main things … I couldn't make many decisions. I couldn't think straight. We didn't have the energy to get in the Blue Lagoon and swim, which again is very unusual for us because we like doing that sort of thing.' 'We weren't able to use our arms' By the time the kayaking portion of the tour commenced, Bethany knew this was more than a hangover or food poisoning. 'Simone and I were having to just lay down in the backs of the kayaks … we weren't able to actually use our arms,' she said. 'That was quite concerning. And the fact that Simone was being sick off of one of the kayaks as well, indicated that there was definitely something not right. 'I had no way of getting any help from anyone … no one really seemed to take any interest at the time. So I just had to accept my fate in a way and just continue with the rest of the morning as normal.' Venturing back to Vang Vieng, the pair collected their belongings before boarding a mini bus bound for their next stop, Vientiane. Bethany said she fell asleep straight away at the back of the vehicle, only to be woken to shouts that Simone was vomiting outside the bus. 'I fainted which I've never done before, so that should have been an alarm bell, but for some reason it wasn't … because of this cognitive decline,' Bethany explained. 'Our [other] friend decided that we'd be taken to a hospital. So we ended up in a public hospital. They didn't have a clue what was wrong with us … they were coming up with food poisoning, but that was not the case.' 'Simone started gasping for air' Bethany claims the hospital did not do the correct blood tests, instead insisting on a full blood count and electrolyte panels, which failed to show methanol poisoning. About 24 hours in, Simone started to go into respiratory distress, and from there she entered a rapid decline. 'She started gasping for air,' Bethany recalled. 'She then wasn't able to talk to me. She wasn't able to really look at me properly. She had her eyes open, but they were just glazed. 'She wasn't able to concentrate on me, and they [the hospital] were saying to me, she's really anxious. They just had absolutely no idea what to do with her … they gave her oxygen, but again, it was just not the right treatment. She needed to have dialysis at that point.' Bethany made the decision to get Simone out of the public hospital and into a private facility. As soon as they arrived — around 28 hours after consuming the drinks — Simone was taken for immediate dialysis. 'They just said, we'll do everything we can to save her life,' Bethany recalled. But being in a state of decline herself, Bethany was forced to make decisions about the life of her best friend while not having full cognitive awareness herself. 'They [hospital] handed a load of forms to fill in … I was just having to wake up from being asleep and they'd say, 'can you sign this and can you pay for this'?' she recalled. 'It was just horrendous … brain damage had occurred … she actually had five seizures during the process.' Bethany was forced to make the call to Simone's mother Sue to inform her they were in hospital with suspected methanol poisoning — a conversation she will never escape. 'Simone ended up needing brain surgery, which I had to ring Sue to get consent for,' she explained. 'Luckily by the time Sue arrived from the UK to Laos, Simone hadn't actually gone in yet [for brain surgery]. 'Sue literally got there as Simone was being wheeled in … obviously all her hair was shaved off. Then a few hours later we found out that although the brain surgery was sort of successful, she'd developed a bleed on that side of the brain as a result of the surgery. 'The other side of her brain was swollen as well. So at that point, they said that she's just going to end up in a coma regardless of what we do.' ' Sue had to end Simone's life' Bethany and Sue were left with the excruciating wait of letting Simone 'die naturally'. But because her heartbeat was still so strong, Sue had to speak with the British Embassy and plead to allow the turning off of her daughter's life support machine. 'They [the hospital] weren't happy initially with that idea because they're Buddhist and they want prolonged life, not to end it,' Bethany said. 'But it was just a necessary thing that had to happen. Sue had to end Simone's life … And she had, I think, three attempts at trying to turn the machine off, but because she had no member of staff in there, it was just agonising and took a very long time.' Simone was one of six tourists, including two Danish women in their early 20s, an American and two Australians — Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles — who died of methanol poisoning after consuming drinks at the Nana Backpackers hostel. While Simone's toxicology and urine levels of methanol presented 'off the chart' readings, Bethany said hers came back far lower — which to this day still doesn't understand why. The hostel provided CCTV footage with Bethany, who has given permission for to share. The footage shows Bethany and Simone consuming their final few drinks while at the hostel bar together. The bar and hostel where the drinks were consumed has been closed, however while investigations continue no charges have been laid. 'Steer Clear Drink Beer' Six months since she watched her best friend die at the hands of the silent killer methanol, which very easily could've taken her own life, Bethany said she wakes every morning to the thought of her lifelong friend. 'She was just the best friend that I could have asked for,' Bethany said, adding she has saved Simone's voicemails which she replays frequently to hear her voice. 'I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like Simone again. She'd come up with suggestions as to events we could go to and restaurants we could try and holidays that we could book. 'She always had time for me and she always made the time.' Bethany said she doesn't want Simone's death — or the other tourists who lost their lives that week in Laos — to be in vain. While in Brisbane, working as a podiatrist, she set up a petition calling for the dangers of methanol poisoning to be put on the school curriculum in the UK. 'The advice from me is to 'steer clear, drink beer'. Look up the symptoms, be mindful about where you're drinking,' she said previously of the campaign. 'It was just horrendous being in that hospital,' she added while speaking to 'It was very traumatic.' 'I don't want Simone's death to be in vain, and I don't want other people to go through this. 'So I think this is the ideal opportunity for me to start talking. 'We are really going with the Steer Clear Drink beer message, and if you really wanted spirits, you could get them from duty free because that is the only way that you're going to know that those drinks are safe. 'It's just not worth taking the risk.'
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
‘Steer clear, drink beer': Teach teens the dangers of methanol poisoning says best friend of killed Laos tourist
The best friend of a woman who died from suspected methanol poisoning while on holiday in Laos has called for the government to do more to warn teenagers of the dangers of drinking alcohol abroad. Simone White, 28, a lawyer from London, was one of six tourists who died in November after becoming unwell whilst visiting the town of Vang Vieng, a popular stop along the backpacker route in Southeast Asia. Simone had been backpacking with two childhood friends, staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which offered free shots thought to be tainted with methanol. Also hospitalised was Bethany Clarke, Simone's best friend, but she has since recovered. Bethany is now campaigning for a greater awareness of the risks of drinking alcohol abroad and methanol poisoning. She told BBC Newsbeat that the group did not realise anything was wrong until they were kayaking the next day. Both she and Simone were flat on the backs of the kayaks, unable to move their arms. "That was a moment where I thought I really don't understand what's happening to us. It just seemed like I was just having to accept my fate." It took them a while to get treated for methanol poisoning, as Bethany said the doctors kept blaming their sickness ion food poisoning. Methanol, which is tasteless and odourless, has been used in the manufacture of counterfeit replicas of alcohol brands or illegal local spirits, such as vodka. The chemical can rapidly lead to serious illness, with long-term effects such as blindness and permanent damage to the nervous system, as well as comas, or even death if there is substantial exposure. Bethany is now hoping that the dangers of methanol poisoning will be taught in schools, and is warning others to be mindful when drinking alcohol. "The advice is from me: 'steer clear, drink beer'. Look up the symptoms, be mindful about where you're drinking,' Bethany told the BBC. "Just don't let it be your best friend that dies from methanol poisoning." Bethany has also set up a petition calling for the dangers of methanol poisoning to be put in the school curriculum across the UK. The petition states, "children should be taught the dangers of consuming bootleg alcohol as part of the PSHE and/or Biology curriculum in school". "I think it just needs to be a five-minute talk or possibly even some kind of public health advert, just giving the case study of Laos and saying this can happen," Bethany says. "If people want to take the risk and drink it, at least they've been educated, and then they might even be able to spot some of the symptoms if they do happen to drink it." A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities.' The Foreign Office has also included in its travel advice for Laos the warning to take care if alcohol is offered, particularly for free, or when buying a spirit-based drink. 'If labels, smell or taste seem wrong, then do not drink,' it states. It adds that to protect yourself from methanol poisoning, you should buy alcohol only from licensed liquor stores, at licensed bars and hotels, avoid homemade alcoholic drinks, check bottle seals are intact and check labels for poor print or incorrect spelling. The Independent has contacted the Department for Education for comment.
The Independent
25-04-2025
- Health
- The Independent
‘Steer clear, drink beer': Teach kids the dangers of alcohol poisoning says best friend of killed Laos tourist
The best friend of a woman who died from suspected methanol poisoning while on holiday in Laos has called for the government to do more to warn teenagers of the dangers of drinking alcohol abroad. Simone White, 28, a lawyer from London, was one of six tourists who died in November after becoming unwell whilst visiting the town of Vang Vieng, a popular stop along the backpacker route in Southeast Asia. Simone had been backpacking with two childhood friends, staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which offered free shots thought to be tainted with methanol. Also hospitalised was Bethany Clarke, Simone's best friend, but she has since recovered. Bethany is now campaigning for a greater awareness of the risks of drinking alcohol abroad and methanol poisoning. She told BBC Newsbeat that the group did not realise anything was wrong until they were kayaking the next day. Both she and Simone were flat on the backs of the kayaks, unable to move their arms. "That was a moment where I thought I really don't understand what's happening to us. It just seemed like I was just having to accept my fate." It took them a while to get treated for methanol poisoning, as Bethany said the doctors kept blaming their sickness ion food poisoning. Methanol, which is tasteless and odourless, has been used in the manufacture of counterfeit replicas of alcohol brands or illegal local spirits, such as vodka. The chemical can rapidly lead to serious illness, with long-term effects such as blindness and permanent damage to the nervous system, as well as comas, or even death if there is substantial exposure. Bethany is now hoping that the dangers of methanol poisoning will be taught in schools, and is warning others to be mindful when drinking alcohol. "The advice is from me: 'steer clear, drink beer'. Look up the symptoms, be mindful about where you're drinking,' Bethany told the BBC. "Just don't let it be your best friend that dies from methanol poisoning." Bethany has also set up a petition calling for the dangers of methanol poisoning to be put in the school curriculum across the UK. The petition states, "children should be taught the dangers of consuming bootleg alcohol as part of the PSHE and/or Biology curriculum in school". "I think it just needs to be a five-minute talk or possibly even some kind of public health advert, just giving the case study of Laos and saying this can happen," Bethany says. "If people want to take the risk and drink it, at least they've been educated, and then they might even be able to spot some of the symptoms if they do happen to drink it." A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'We are supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Laos, and we are in contact with the local authorities.' The Foreign Office has also included in its travel advice for Laos the warning to take care if alcohol is offered, particularly for free, or when buying a spirit-based drink. 'If labels, smell or taste seem wrong, then do not drink,' it states. It adds that to protect yourself from methanol poisoning, you should buy alcohol only from licensed liquor stores, at licensed bars and hotels, avoid homemade alcoholic drinks, check bottle seals are intact and check labels for poor print or incorrect spelling.
