The father of a Melbourne teenager who died of suspected methanol poisoning from drinks served in Laos said his daughter was a victim of her ‘lust for life and adventure’ whose life had been ‘cruelly cut short’.
Bianca Jones and her friend Holly Bowles, both aged 19, fell ill after partying in the Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng with Ms Jones dying in hospital on Thursday, and Ms Bowles on Friday.
Mark Jones, the father of Bianca, said his daughter ‘was on the trip of a lifetime with one of her best mates’.
‘This was meant to be a trip full of lifelong memories, and was to be the first of many,’ Mr Jones said.
‘Bianca wanted to explore the world, meet new friends, lead and create change for good.’
His comment comes after disturbing details emerged about the brand of vodka the women are believed to have drunk and how cheap and popular it is.
Bianca and Holly had been staying at Nana Backpackers Hostel with staff denying they added methanol to the drinks – raising speculation the alcohol could have been accidentally spiked as a result of a production error.
Mr Jones also made a plea to the government of Laos.
Melbourne teenager Bianca Jones died after being served drinks suspected to have contained methanol in Laos
‘I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Laos government to investigate this to the fullest extent, to make sure this incident doesn’t happen again,’ he told The Age.
‘We can’t have the passing of our daughter … not lead to change to protect others.
The Laos government on Saturday publicly acknowledged the tragedy for the first time, saying it was ‘profoundly saddened’.
‘The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find the causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law,’ a statement said.
‘The [government] reaffirms that it always attaches importance and pays attention to the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists.’
Tiger Vodka can be bought in Vang Vieng from a retail store in a 700ml bottle for as little as 70 cents.
Bars could buy the spirits, which are ‘blended, bottled and distilled in Lao’, for even.
Unnamed sources in Laos had told the Courier Mail it was possible that an error had been made in production.
Mr Jones and her friend Holly Bowles, both aged 19, fell ill and later died after a night partying in the Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng
‘Everything is owned by the government, or at least 90 per cent government owned,’ a source said.
‘This could have been a mistake made at a government owned factory, that is a possible reason as to why it happened.’
Six people have so far died in the suspected poisoning incident.
Staff at Nana Backpackers have denied they added anything to the shots of Tiger Vodka that had been given away for free as part of a happy hour deal between 8pm and 10pm.
Tiger branded whiskey and vodka is also given away for free at other bars with reports emerging of methanol poisoning at several premises.
A bottle of the alcohol was seen at the hostel where the two Australian girls had been staying.
‘Vodka Tiger – finest blended, smooth and mellon (sic). Since 1980,’ the label read.
‘Distilled, blended and bottled in Lar PDR. Xatmoungkhoun Village, Naxaythong District, Vientiane, Lao PDR.’
The bottle lists the alcohol content at 40 per cent – in line with other brands of vodka.
An American man was found dead in his hostel room next to two empty bottles of vodka, while two Danish women were discovered unconscious on their bathroom floor, a Laos government document revealed.
The police document named the American as James Louis Hutson, 57, and the Danish women as Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, according to the document seen by The Age.
The deaths have not been independently verified.
British woman Simone White, 28, is also among the dead.
Police ordered the closure of Nana Backpacker Hostel on Fridy, where the Australians and other travellers were staying when they were rushed to hospital.
Methanol has been known to be used in homemade alcohol in South East Asia.
Nana Hostel bartender Duong Duc Toan has been detained and questioned by police.
The bartender has denied his vodka is tainted and said it was made in a factory. He even went as far as to drink some himself when interviewed by reporters.