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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Australian teen dies from toxic alcohol in Laos

The picturesque scenery of towering karst mountains in Vang Vieng, 154 km north of Vientiane in Laos. (Photo: Bangkok Post)

An Australian teenager died on Thursday after drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol in Laos, the fourth foreign national now suspected to have died in the incident.

Bianca Jones, 19, fell ill last week in Vang Vieng, a town popular with foreign backpackers that is about two hours north of the Lao capital Vientiane by road.

She died on Thursday after being taken to a hospital in Udon Thani on Nov 13.

Australian media said Jones was the fourth foreign tourist to die after consuming the contaminated alcohol, following two Danes and an American.

Jones' friend Holly Bowles, also 19, is in critical condition in a hospital in Bangkok, her family said earlier.

Contaminated liquor is a problem in Laos, with the governments of Australia and Britain warning citizens to be cautious when taking drinks there.

Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in some fuel.

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