Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones’ devastated families have heaped pressure on Laos authorities to get to the bottom of a mass methanol poisoning tragedy.
The Australians, both 19, are among six foreign tourists who died from a suspected methanol poisoning event in Laos.
The friends from Beaumaris in Melbourne’s southeast had been on holiday in the landlocked South East Asian nation when they became ill along with a dozen other tourists in the popular tourist town of Vang Vieng.
They failed to check out at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on November 13 after going to the Jaidee Bar.
Ms Jones and Ms Bowles were evacuated to Thailand and died in separate Bangkok hospitals after their families raced to be by their bedsides.
In his first public statement, Bianca’s father said his daughter was on the trip of a lifetime and wanted to explore the world to meet new friends.
“Her life had just begun. She was a young woman that had a lust for life,” Mark Jones told reporters in Bangkok on Saturday.
“We’ll forever miss our beautiful girl and hope her loss of life has not been in vain.”
Thai authorities have confirmed Ms Jones died of “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system”.
On behalf of both Australian families, Mr Jones urged the Laos government to investigate the incident to the “fullest extent” to avoid it happening again.
“We can’t have the passing of our daughter … not lead to change to protect others,” he said.
Australian media has reported their bodies could be flown home as early as this week.
AAP has contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment on the repatriation effort.
The one-party communist Laotian government acknowledged the mass poisoning event for the first time on Saturday.
It was “profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists” and offered its condolences to the families of the victims.
“The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law,” the Laos government said in a short media statement.
Local police have said they detained a number of people but have otherwise remained tight-tipped.
The suspected methanol poisoning event has been linked to six deaths so far, including the two Australians.
The UK Foreign Office named 28-year-old British woman Simone White as another of the victims.
An American man and two Danes also died, although their exact causes of death have not been released.
A New Zealander has also fallen ill.
It’s believed all the affected tourists, consumed drinks laced with methanol.
The Australian government has updated its travel advice for Laos, telling residents to be alert to the potential risk of spirit-based drinks including cocktails.
With AP
