November 20th 2024.
Two young women from Melbourne, Australia, Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, were enjoying their vacation as tourists in Laos. They were both 19 years old and best friends, excited to explore the town of Vang Vieng. Little did they know, their fun night out would turn into a nightmare.
As they were getting ready to go out, they were offered free vodka shots at their hostel, Nana Backpackers. Without thinking much about it, they accepted the drinks and headed out for the night. However, upon their return to their room, they started feeling sick and ended up spending the next 24 hours in their room, unable to check out.
It wasn't until the hostel staff noticed that they hadn't checked out that they went to check on the girls. The CCTV footage showed them being taken to the hospital on the back of a motorbike. It was later reported by the Australian media that both girls were being treated for severe alcohol poisoning, a condition that has caused death to two people and made at least 10 others sick.
The suspicion was that they had consumed methanol, a cheaper alternative to ethanol, which is sometimes used to mix into drinks. Holly's father, Shaun, spoke outside the hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, where the girls were on life support. He expressed their concern for their daughter's critical condition and their need for privacy during this difficult time.
Bianca's family also released a statement, stating that their daughter was on a dream getaway with her best friend and asking for privacy as they prayed for her recovery. Meanwhile, the hostel manager, Duong Duc Toan, claimed that he had mixed the vodka with ice and Coke Zero, and it was not his alcohol that made the girls sick.
He assured that he had bought the vodka from a certified distributor and that neither he nor his staff had tampered with it. To demonstrate its safety, he even had a bartender drink from one of the bottles used that night. However, due to this incident, the police have instructed all hostels, hotels, and bars in Vang Vieng to stop selling alcohol.
The owner of the hostel, Duong van Huan, also maintained that this was an isolated incident and that they take good care of their customers. He insisted that they have never done anything wrong and that all their alcohol is safe. He also mentioned that the police have already checked everything and found no issues.
This incident has raised concerns among other tourists visiting Vang Vieng, known for its vibrant parties and adventure sports. Jasmine Antonius from the Netherlands expressed how this was a wake-up call for many and urged people to be more cautious when it comes to their drinks. She hoped that this unfortunate event would make people take more precautions to avoid such incidents in the future.
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