- Two Aussies on life support in Thai hospitals
- Do you know more? max.aldred@mailonline.com
Two young women are fighting for life in Thailand, suspected of drinking poisoned cocktails.
The Melbourne women, both believed to be aged 19, were staying at a hostel in the Laotian capital, Vientiane – near Thailand’s northern border – when their drinks were apparently spiked with methanol.
The young women, best friends who graduated Beaumaris Secondary College last year, had reportedly been travelling since university broke up for the year.
They are now being treated in separate hospitals in Udon Thani and Bangkok, where one of the families is at her bedside.
Two other people are feared dead and ten more are ill from methanol poisoning in the area.
Another affected traveller reported six people have been admitted to her hospital in Vientiane after being poisoned by methanol in Vang Vieng, a smaller city to the north of Vientiane.
‘Stay safe guys and avoid free shots from bars as they are likely local spirits. It’s possible that some of the vodka has been contaminated with a higher dosage of methanol than usual,’ she warned travellers.
‘Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars. Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.’
Methanol is commonly used as a petrol additive and an industrial solvent in insecticides, some types of paint strippers and glass cleaner. Drinking just 25-90ml of the substance can be fatal.
Symptoms of methanol poisoning include abdominal pain, vomiting, breathing difficulties, blindness, and seizures.
In countries with high taxes on alcohol, the chemical is often mixed with alcoholic drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, according to the Methanol Institute.
DFAT has been contacted for comment.
This is a breaking news story. More to come
