The death toll now includes Bowles, Jones, two young Danish women, an American man and 28-year-old British woman Simone White.

The hostel denies that its drinks made the guests sick. To make the point earlier this week, the manager drank vodka from one of the bottles himself.

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A Nana worker, one of few remaining there to help the last guests check out, said the Australian 19-year-olds had returned in the early hours of the morning. They seemed happy, he said, though they were not walking straight. Vang Vieng is a party town for backpackers, so this was not unusual.

The Danes also came home late from somewhere else that morning, separately to the Australians, he said.

He said Jones and Bowles had spent all the next day in the dormitory they shared with another person, before appearing about 10pm. They were “walking around”, the worker said, but they were apparently having trouble drinking water. About 2am on what was believed to be November 13, the pair, assisted by the dorm mate, asked the hostel for an ambulance.

The worker decided the fastest action was to take them himself on a moped. The women said nothing on the drive, he said, and the last he saw of them was at the hospital.

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Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has reached out to her new Laos counterpart, who assumed office on Friday, to underline how devastated Australians were by Jones’ death and Bowles’ then-tenuous grip on life.

Laotian authorities have not released any details. But this masthead has been told the Australian government has pressed them for a thorough and transparent investigation.

The deaths have shocked the rundown but charming town rimmed by jagged mountains and dotted with cheap bars.

The last guests at Nana had arrived on Tuesday, a week after the night out and just as news was starting to spread. Other guests informed them about what had happened. They did not want to speak on the record while still in Laos for their safety. Other backpackers there this week have said the same thing.

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