Six backpackers have died after a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, Laos, a popular party destination. Authorities have detained the owner of a backpacker hostel, but no charges have been laid. This incident raises concerns about the safety of tourists in the area and highlights the potential dangers of the boozy tubing culture that has made Vang Vieng famous.
Six people are dead after a suspected mass methanol poisoning at a backpacker party town. What went wrong in Laos ? As authorities detain a hostel owner in Vang Vieng , an expert says the recent deaths are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’. It morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic party hub in the early 2000s. Enticed by boozy tubing experiences, throngs of twentysomething backpackers cemented its spot on south-east Asia’s famed backpacker trail.
A voyage through the tapestry of the region is somewhat of a rite of passage for some young travellers. But the deaths of six young travellers – after a suspected mass methanol poisoning – emerged from the town and rippled through international headlines. While a spate of backpacker deaths led to a crackdown on bars and a temporary tubing ban in 2012, Vang Vieng, a 90-minute drive from the capital Vientiane, has remained popular among tourists. Three tourists – two Danish citizens, 19 and 20, and an American – died in Laos after the poisoning. About 11 foreign citizens remain in hospital. Authorities in Laos on Friday detained the manager and owner of the Nana backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng, but no charges have been laid. Almost a year ago, Claire*, a thirtysomething British traveller, was gazing up at the Lao sky, vodka and cola in hand. Her “tipsy tubing” trip last December had begun as planned. “I started to feel strange, suddenly I was very weak and tired, and I was sliding in and out of consciousness,” Claire says. Her friends witnessed her eyes rolling back, and Claire remembers them later describing it as “terrifying”. “I was mostly aware of everything but couldn’t see – I knew I was being carried but couldn’t physically do anything,” she says. The incident landed her in hospital for days. She still doesn’t know how it happened.
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