Laotian police detain several people in investigation of tourist deaths in tainted alcohol incident

VANG VIENG, Laos (AP) — Laotian police have detained the manager and owner of a hostel where two teenage Australian tourists stayed who were poisoned by tainted alcohol, one fatally, in a case that appears to have claimed the lives of at least five people.

An officer at Vang Vieng’s Tourism Police office, who refused to give his name, told The Associated Press on Friday that a “number of people” had been detained in the case but that no charges have yet been filed. Staff at the Nana Backpacker Hostel, which was still operating but not accepting new guests, confirmed that the manager and owner were among those taken in for questioning.

Tourist police offices are common in Southeast Asia and are set up specifically to help with incidents involving tourists and other foreigners.

The U.S. State Department on Friday issued a health alert for citizens traveling in Laos, warning of “suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly through the consumption of methanol-laced alcoholic drinks,” following similar alerts from other countries whose citizens were involved.

Australia’s prime minister announced Thursday that a 19-year-old citizen had died in a Thai hospital where she had been evacuated for emergency treatment, and that her friend remained in a hospital “fighting for her life.” A 28-year-old British woman also died from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos, the British Foreign Office said.

An American and two Danish tourists also died, though specifics about the causes of death have not been released.

Laos is a one-party communist state with no organized opposition and the government keeps a tight lid on information. In this case, officials have released almost no details.

The Foreign Ministry has refused to comment,