The mother of a London lawyer who died after drinking contaminated vodka while travelling in Laos has recalled her “horrendous” journey to be at her daughter’s bedside.
Simone White, 28, had been backpacking with two childhood friends at Nana Backpackers Hotel in Vang Vieng when she became seriously unwell after accepting a shot of alcohol, which also killed five others.
Speaking to The Sunday Times, her mother Sue White said: “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.”
She was taken in for surgery just as her mother arrived at the hospital after travelling 16 hours from Heathrow. It later became clear that her brain function was gone, and she died on Thursday, 21 November.
She warned young travellers exploring south-east Asia to be careful when accepting drinks, stressing: “Simone was a university-educated, highly intelligent person. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.”
Her daughter and her friends were among a group of people who became violently unwell, with police detaining eight hostel staff members for questioning. The owners have denied selling illicit alcohol.
Miss White had not noticed anything out of the ordinary with the drinks, but woke up with a headache with their condition growing worse the following day.
After starting to vomit, the trio decided to take a taxi to the public hospital, before travelling on to a private medical facility in Vientiane, the country’s capital.
It was on the Thursday, 14 November, that her mother received a text message to say that they were in hospital with suspected acidosis. Her friend added: “Simone is the worst affected out of all of us but she’s not doing too badly. Keep you updated.”
The following day, she received a phone call from her daughter’s friend, telling her to travel out as Miss White’s condition had worsened, and she required two blood transfusions and a brain operation.
Unfortunately, the methanol had seriously affected her daughter and she was in a far worse condition. A deadly chemical that can be found in home-brewed or counterfeit alcohol, only a small amount can cause organ failure, blindness and death.
Despite the best efforts of the hospital staff, she died a few days later. Since her death, tributes have flooded in for the successful lawyer, who had been working at global law firm Squire Patton Boggs, whose work involved general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues.
Landlocked Laos is one of south-east Asia’s poorest nations and a popular tourist destination. Vang Vieng is particularly popular among backpackers seeking partying and adventure sports.
Officials in Laos have released almost no details about the case, with the government keeping a tight lid on information.
The country is a one-party communist state with no organised opposition.