Eight workers arrested after six tourists died from ‘methanol poisoning’ while on holiday

Updated 09:26 26 Nov 2024 GMTPublished 09:12 26 Nov 2024 GMT

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Eight arrests have been made at the hostel where tourists were staying

Eight people who worked at a hostel in Laos have been arrested after six tourists died of suspected methanol poisoning.

Metro reports that members of staff from the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng have been arrested, but no charges have yet been brought.

The six individuals killed have since been identified as 28-year-old British national Simone White, Australian friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, 57-year-old American tourist James Louis Hutson and Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21.

The manager and owner of the hostel was previously taken in for questioning following the suspected methanol poisoning incident.

Authorities in Laos shared their 'deepest condolences' with the families of those who had died and promised they would 'bring the perpetrators to justice'.

"The government of the Lao PDR is profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists in Vangvieng District, Vientiane Province and expresses its sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," police said in a statement.

“The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law.

“The government of the Lao PDR reaffirms that it always attaches the importance and pays attention to the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists.”

The hostel offered free vodka shots to over 100 guests before they ventured off for a night out in Vang Vieng on 13 November, though hostel manager Duong Duc Toan claimed that other guests did not complain about feeling unwell.

More to follow.