A BRITISH tourist is among 14 who were rushed to hospital after allegedly being served poisoned drinks.
Simone White, from Orpington, Kent, was hospitalised after it is claimed she was dosed with methanol while vacationing in Laos, south east Asia.
It has been reported tourists fell ill after partying at the Nana Backpacker Hostelon on Tuesday night last week[/caption]
The 28-year-old associate lawyer was among several who were allegedly poisoned in Vang Vieng on Tuesday night last week.
There were two Danish women, aged in their 20s, who reportedly died after the horror, as reported by The Times.
Meanwhile, it is believed 12 others, most of whom were guests at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, were left seriously unwell.
It is not known where the contaminated drinks were sold.
Simone specialised in intellectual property and technology at the London office of the American law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
Her friend Bethany Clarke raised the alarm with an urgent warning on the Laos Backpacking Facebook group.
She wrote: “Urgent — please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
Bethany added that she was “very fatigued and then fainted, then just felt nauseous and then my liver started to shut down”.
She continued: “I got to the private hospital in time but underwent many infusions and tablets and days of recovery.”
The hostel manager, Duong Duc Toan, confirmed more than 100 guests were plied with free shots of Lao Tiger vodka, mixed with ice and Coke Zero.
He said the alcohol was from a certified distributor and not tampered with by his staff.
“Right now the police [are telling] every hostel and hotel and bar to stop selling drinks in Vang Vieng,” he told the Associated Press.
Toan told the Australian broadcaster ABC: “The police in Vang Vieng and [the capital] Vientiane already came to the hostel to check, the shop [where] we buy the vodka, check the shop [where] we buy the whisky.
“We don’t do anything wrong, for sure. I really take care of all of the customers [who] stay with our hotel and our hostel.”
Meanwhile, fellow tourists Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, have also been named as two victims.
The teens, from Melbourne, Australia, remain in Thai hospitals.
The Jones family said in a statement that Bianca was on a “dream getaway with her best friend Holly”.
They said: “They were filled with joy and had such incredible adventures ahead of them, travelling through Asia.
“We are here by Bianca’s bedside praying for her.”
Laos police have launched a probe into the alleged poisoning.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are providing consular assistance to British nationals and their families and are in contact with the local authorities following an incident in Laos.”
