Ex-Laos bar worker reveals what goes into ‘devastating’ cheap drinks & boss’s chilling reaction to ‘dead’ party-goer
It is “unsurprising” that alcohol served in the popular tourist destination could be fatal, according to a former barman in Laos.
Alasdair Gill worked in Vang Vieng, a party hotspot where six tourists are suspected of consuming methanol-tainted alcohol prior to their deaths.
Australian teenagers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, who stayed at the Nana Backpack hostel, are among the victims of the alleged mass poisoning in the town, along with British lawyer Simone White, 28.
When he was 19, Gill worked in a bar in Vang Vieng, where he disclosed the ingredients of the free and inexpensive beverages given to visitors.
He claimed that Western visitors would swarm the bars and receive a complimentary bucket each with “eager excitement” between 8 and 9 p.m.
Gill told The Times that they included coke, an energy drink that was allegedly laced with amphetamines, and half a bottle of local whisky.
More on the Laos tragedy
However, according to the former bartender, the whiskey “isn’t what anyone’s had before” and is really among the most affordable local goods.
Gill continued: “Every beer we sold would make up for seven buckets handed out.”
A “disco bucket” was another bucket created to sell to visitors. It contained marijuana, opium, mushrooms, whiskey, and energy drinks, all of which were mixed with banana.
Gill described the drink as “unsurprisingly devastating” and related how, during one shift, he witnessed a European visitor unconscious and face down in the river.
Locals hurried to his aid, but he was astonished by his boss’s response.
The terrifying statement, “Someone parties themselves out cold every two weeks here,” was delivered to me by my manager, Gill claimed. About 30 people were counted last year.
Grieving parents lead emotional tributes to beautiful Brit lawyer poisoned by methanol-laced booze in Laos
Gill worked in Vang Vieng ten years ago, and hundreds of tourists visit the isolated village each year.
According to Gill, Vang Vieng is “something of a lawless playground” because of its remote position.
He went on to say: “It is therefore not unexpected that alcohol was probably the cause of death because the inexpensive, handmade whisky was essentially a publicity stunt with no practical means of control.
“It caused people to become completely inebriated.
“It was like trying booze for the first time for many and you d see the glazed faces of people in the middle of blackouts.”
It happens when investigators in Laos, southeast Asia, are still looking into the deaths of six visitors.
What is methanol?
By Health Correspondent Sam Blanchard
Drinks that have been improperly brewed or distilled, or that have been added by thieves to make them stronger, may contain METHANOL, a highly deadly form of alcohol.
A single shot of tainted alcohol might be fatal, and 4 milliliters of methanol could be sufficient to cause blindness. The repercussions could be catastrophic.
According to Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology chemist Prof. Oliver Jones, the body changes methanol into formic acid.
An enzyme that is essential to the body’s usage of oxygen to produce energy is inhibited by formic acid.
If it malfunctions, cells are unable to absorb or utilize oxygen from the blood, and when cells begin to die, a shortage of oxygen leads to issues in many organs.
Seizures, lightheadedness, and vomiting are signs of methanol poisoning.
Methanol poisoning appears to be especially harmful to the optic nerve, which increases the risk of either temporary or permanent blindness and even death.
Although fortunately uncommon, methanol poisoning is extremely dangerous and should only be treated in a hospital.
Getting the patient intoxicated with regular alcohol, or ethanol, is an unexpected but crucial treatment for methanol poisoning because it diverts the liver’s attention and prevents it from digesting the methanol.
In Laos, anxious hikers are now refraining from taking free shots out of concern that they might contain methanol, an industrial ingredient frequently found in illegal alcohol.
During their investigation, local police detained the hostel’s manager and owner.
Duong Duc Toan, the hostel’s manager and bartender, had earlier denied that any of the beverages offered there could have caused the vacationers to become unwell.
Simone White, 28, was one of the victims of the feared mass poisoning.
Read More on The US Sun
After receiving complimentary shots that were allegedly tampered with, the lawyer from Orpington, Kent, passed away last Thursday.
A number of tourists are still in the hospital.
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