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Agence France-Presse

Police in Laos have detained the manager and seven staff members of a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng following the deaths of six tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, state media reported on Tuesday.
Two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died following what media said was a night out in the town on November 12.
Police have detained the 34-year-old manager of the Nana Backpacker Hostel and seven other employees for interrogation, the Laos Post said on Tuesday.
Local media reported that all those detained were Vietnamese nationals.
Vang Vieng has been a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail since Laos’ secretive communist rulers opened the country to tourism decades ago.


The town was once synonymous with alcohol and drug-fuelled jungle parties for backpackers, but has since re-branded as an ecotourism destination.
Alcohol tainted with methanol is suspected to be the cause of the deaths.
Methanol is a toxic alcohol that can be added to liquor to increase its potency but can cause blindness, liver damage and death.
On their travel advice websites, UK and Australian authorities have warned their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning while consuming alcohol in Laos.
On Saturday, the Laos government expressed “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”, adding an investigation was under way to find the cause of the incident.


Laos hostel staff detained after backpackers’ deaths from methanol poisoning

Methanol poisoning, its symptoms, effects on the body, treatment and why it is so deadly

Laos vows justice after tainted alcohol kills tourists

Laotian tourist hotspot overshadowed by string of deadly poisonings

Laos

A motorcyclist passes the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng/ Photo: AFP

Foreign tourists have drinks and pizza at a restaurant in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Tuesday. Photo: Ap

Neil Farmiloe (right), a New Zealander who owns the Kiwi Kitchen restaurant, while serving food to foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Friday, Photo: AP

Foreign tourists after visiting Tham Poukham cave in Blue lagoon, in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Saturday. Photo: AP

Foreign tourists relax with beer and food in Blue lagoon, in Vang Vieng, Laos. Photo: AP

Australian tourist dies after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos party town

Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones 

Foreign tourists drink at a nightclub in Vang Vieng, Laos, on November 19. Photo: AP

Foreign tourists relax at a swimming pool at Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng. Photo: AP

Second Australian teen dies after suspected Laos poisoning, bringing death toll to 6

Holly Bowles, 19, from Australia, died hours after her friend Bianca Jones, following a night out in Laos. Two Danes, an American and a Briton have also died. Photo: Facebook/@HollyBowles

Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Her best friend, Holly Bowles, also died. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones

Health officials check documents and ask questions on Friday at a hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, after the deaths of six people, thought to have been caused by methanol poisoning. Photo: AP

Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in industrial and household products. Unscrupulous producers sometimes add it to alcoholic drinks to make them more potent. Methanol poisoning recently killed six tourists in Laos. Photo: Shutterstock

Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones

Flowers left in tribute to Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, who died from methanol poisoning in Laos, outside Beaumaris Secondary College in the suburb of Beaumaris in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Treatment for methanol poisoning may include fomepizole, the antidote for toxic alcohols. Photo: Shutterstock

The Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, where six foreign tourists died from methanol poisoning. Photo: AFP

Health officials check documents and ask questions of Nana Backpackers Hostel employees following the deaths of six tourists there from methanol poisoning. Photo: AP

Buying and consuming canned or bottled alcoholic beverages from trusted retailers tends to be safer and less likely to be adulterated than mixed drinks at bars. Photo: Shutterstock

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

Six backpackers died in Laos after suspected methanol poisoning, where consuming alcohol remains a concern


Six backpackers died in Laos after suspected methanol poisoning, where consuming alcohol remains a concern.


Asia travel

Tourism