POLICE have arrested several members of staff from the Laos hostel that has been suspected of handing out methanol laced shots that killed six people.
Eight employees at the Nana Backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng were taken into custody on Monday.
FacebookLaos police detain eight employees at the Nana Backpacker hostel in Laos[/caption]
Tim StewartSimone White, 28, a lawyer from Orpington, Kent, died after drinking shots suspected to have been laced with methanol[/caption]
Holly Bowles, 19, died on Friday
A British tourist and five others died just hours after taking free alcoholic shots at the party hostel.
The eight detained workers are reportedly believed to be Vietnamese nationals.
The manager and bartender at the hostel Duong Duc Toan was already investigated by local police and detained after several tourists were hospitalised.
Guests at the hostel were reportedly handed free shots made with local Tiger Vodka, as a gesture of hospitality.
It is not clear where the allegedly methanol-spiked drinks were consumed – or exactly how many unwell tourists remain in hospital.
There have also been reports of possible poisoning victims from other venues in the area, which used Tiger Vodka.
Toan previously denied that any drinks served there could have made the holidaymakers ill.
Staff at the hostel previously denied that Tiger Vodka was added to the free shots handed out between the venues happy hour.
Simone White, 28, a lawyer from Kent, died after last Thursday.
The lawyer and her two friends reportedly had six of these shots each, watered down with Sprite, before the tragic incident.
Simone’s mother, Sue White, said the three friends were initially “dismissed” by medics who said they had food poisoning.
Sue added: “They had to wait an hour for the ambulance and by the time they got there, Simone was delirious and had trouble breathing.
“I think, basically, it had already affected her brain.”
Australian friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, also died following the suspected mass methanol poisoning.
Why is methanol so deadly?
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, writes The Sun’s health correspondent Sam Blanchard.
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.
The teens, from Melbourne, also stayed at the Nana Backpacker hostel.
The alarm was raised by hostel staff after the teens failed to check out on the morning of November 13.
Bianca and Holly were evacuated and rushed to separate hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand, as their families travelled to be with them.
Bianca tragically died on Thursday and Holly died just a day later.
Pixel8000Bianca Jones died after visiting Vang Vieng with her friend Holly Bowles[/caption]
FacebookDanish Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, also died after drinking alcohol thought to have been laced with methanol[/caption]
InstagramFreja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, also died after she visited the holiday town with her friend Anne-Sofie[/caption]
Holly’s dad Shaun told Nine News: “It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.
“We find comfort and solace in knowing that Holly bought so much joy and happiness to so many people.”
Two Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and her friend Freja Vennervald, 21, died after they were left vomiting blood for 13 hours.
American man James Louis Hutson, 57, also died.
More to follow… For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online
Thesun.co.uk is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.
Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thesun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.