Two Australian teenagers have been left fighting for their lives after consuming cocktails allegedly laced with methanol while traveling through Southeast Asia.
The women, believed to be 19, graduated from Melbourne’s Beaumaris Secondary College last year and were on their dream backpacking trip when tragedy struck.
It is understood that the pair first became sick after consuming the cocktails on Friday while staying at a hostel in Udon Thani in Thailand, close to the Laos border, according to 3AW host Jacqui Felgate.
One of the women has been flown to a Bangkok hospital and her family is now by her side, with Felgate talking to her father, who described her condition as “grave”.
“I think it’s one of those stories where if you have teenage kids, you go home and hug them a little tighter,” Felgate said on 3AW Drive.
The two teens had been travelling as part of a larger group of around 10 women who had also visited Laos.
Methanol is often deliberately added to alcoholic drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, which is the normal alcohol used in alcoholic beverages.
This usually occurs in countries where taxes on ethanol are seen as too high, according to the Methanol Institute.
Consuming as little as .85 ounces (25 millilitres) – 3.04 ounces (90 millilitres) of methanol can be fatal.
Symptoms of poisoning can include abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, breathing difficulty, blindness and seizures.
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A spokesperson Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed to news.com.au that they were providing assistance to two Australians in Thailand.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to two Australians and their families in Thailand,” a DFAT spokesperson said in a statement.
“Our thoughts are with them at this deeply distressing time.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
Chilling warnings
In a Facebook group dedicated to backpacking in the area, one tourist warned others about the dangers of drinking alcohol after they claim six from their group are currently in hospital with methanol poisoning.
They say they were given “free shots” from a bar in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town in Laos.
“Urgent, please avoid all local spirits,” they wrote.
“Our group stayed in Van Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. 6 of us who drank from the place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
The tourist said they were recovering after the scare.
“Personally I was very fatigued and then fainted,” they explained.
“I just felt nauseous and then my liver started to shut down. I got to the private hospital in time but underwent many infusions and tablets and days of recovery.”
Back in August this year, six people died in the Thai capital Bangkok while a further 31 were hospitalized after drinking a herbal liquor spiked with methanol.
Thai authorities claim that those who consumed the drink had likely obtained it from one of 18 different locations in Bangkok, who had all bought it from the same supplier.
The supplier allegedly told police that she purchased the alcohol from two brothers and did not know it had been laced with methanol.
