#methanol-poisoning

#methanol-poisoning

Trainee lawyer Simone and childhood friend Bethany Clarke had met up in Laos and spent a night at the hostel, where about 100 guests were given free shots. It is thought those drinks were tainted with methanol, a toxic substance normally found in paint thinner but that is sometimes mixed with alcohol illegally to cut costs. The friends felt unwell the next day and were eventually taken to hospital, where Simone, from Orpington in south-east London, was put on life support before she died.

Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, were killed by methanol poisoning along with four other tourists after a night out at the Nana backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist destination in Laos, in November 2024. More than a year later, the girls' fathers, Shaun Bowles and Mark Jones, said they were relying on a group chat with the families of the victims, started by parents of British lawyer Simone White, for updates provided by the UK government.

For Bethany Clarke, poison tasted like nothing. There was no bitter aftertaste, no astringent sting at the back of the tongue. If anything, she thought in passing, the free shots she and her friends were drinking at a hostel bar in Laos had probably been watered down she wasn't detecting a strong vodka flavour through the veil of Sprite she had mixed it with.

She was really excited because she was going out there to meet up with her friend Bethany [Clarke], who she hadn't seen for seven months," Zak tells BBC Newsbeat. He says his 28-year-old sister, a trainee lawyer, was a "very experienced traveller", so seeing her off was nothing out of the ordinary. The siblings' farewell was "more just wishing her to go and have a nice time," says Zak. "'See you when you're back', kind of thing.

Travellers are advised to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning such as blurry vision and confusion, which can lead to serious illness and death. Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. It is not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic. But there have been instances of unscrupulous backyard brewers adding methanol to drinks to make them go further, and some bars and street sellers mixing it with spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs.