Methanol poisoning has killed Melbourne teen Bianca Jones a week after she and her best friend fell ill while travelling in neighbouring Laos. Thai authorities have confirmed that the teen developed a “brain swelling due to high levels of methanol found in her system." Tragedy struck all of a sudden during Jones and her best friend, Holly Bowles's (aged 19) stay at a hostel in Vang Vieng, north of the Laos capital Vientiane, when they fell critically ill. She is believed to have fallen victim to methanol poisoning after consuming a drink laced with the toxic substance. Previously deaths of two Danish women and an American man in the same region raised concerns over the dangers of drinking unregulated alcohol in Southeast Asia.
What is methanol and how does it poison the body?
