US citizen the third known death in Laos drink poisoning tragedy
More than a week after people became sick, a group of officials that included a police chief went to the hostel on Wednesday and confiscated bottles for testing in Vientiane.
Nana Backpacker Hostel manager Duong Duc Toan with a bottle of vodka.Credit: AP
It was unknown whether investigators from the other visit, which happened shortly after victims emerged, had taken samples. In any case, the bar at Nana continued to serve guests, despite its links to at least some of the victims.
The manager of the hostel, Duong Duc Toan, said this week that he served the Australian 19-year-olds free shots of local vodka, but denied this was what made them sick.
He said other guests notified staff that the Melbourne teens were unwell. They failed to check out as planned on November 13, and he said the hostel then arranged hospital transport for them. Both were flown to Thailand in critical condition.
Toan said the Australian women had joined more than 100 other guests for free shots of Laotian vodka offered by the hostel as a gesture of hospitality.
The hostel said the women started drinking at the bar at 8pm and left about 10.30pm, going elsewhere for the rest of the night and returning in the early hours of the morning. He said no other guests reported any issue.
Backpackers inside the Nana Backpackers Hostel, Vang Vieng on Tuesday.
When this masthead visited the hostel on Tuesday afternoon, Toan produced a bottle of Tiger Vodka he said he served the women, pouring himself a drink and finishing it.
The bottle said the vodka was 40 per cent alcohol and distilled in the southern part of Vientiane. He said he hoped the police investigation would clear his name.
