Three more staff members from a Laos hostel believed to be the source of a mass methanol poisoning have been arrested, after six tourists, including two Australian teenagers, died.
In total, 11 staff from Nana Backpackers in Vang Vieng have been taken into custody, and the owners of the factory thought to have produced the alcohol in question – known as Tiger vodka and Tiger whiskey – have also been arrested.
A foreign tourist couple rest near a swimming pool at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos.Credit: AP
The development comes as the mother of British tourist Simone White, one of the six tourists killed, spoke to The Sunday Times, reported by London’s The Telegraph. Sue White detailed the devastating moment she received a call to inform her that Simone was in a critical condition.
“I knew when I had that phone call – I don’t know what it was, call it a mother’s intuition – but I knew that she was going to die,” White said.
“The flight from the UK was horrendous.
“Before I left, I got a call from the hospital to say she needed urgent brain surgery and I had to give my consent.
Simone White, the 28-year British lawyer who died in the suspected methanol poisoning incident in Laos.Credit: Facebook
“I had to go through the whole flight thinking she was going through brain surgery. It was a terrible, terrible journey.” Her daughter, a 28-year-old lawyer, had worked with global law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles had been staying at Nana and drank the tainted alcohol that led to their deaths. Both were aged 19.