Heartbreak as teen backpackers’ bodies return home
The bodies of teenagers Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles have been flown back to Australia almost a week after their deaths in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos.
The 19-year-olds, from Melbourne’s Bayside, and four other foreign nationals died more than a week after falling ill in Vang Vieng, a popular tourist town.
After landing in Melbourne on Tuesday night, Ms Jones’ father Mark said his family would try to put their lives back together after the tragedy.
“We want to grieve, we miss our daughters desperately,” he told reporters at Tullamarine airport.
However, he said more needed to be done to ensure those responsible for the contamination were held to account.
“I was happy to hear that there’s been some movement over in Laos, I will continue to urge to continue our government to continue to pursue whoever,” Mr Jones said.
“We cannot have our girls passing and this continuing to happen.”
Laophattana News in Vientiane reports eight people have been detained over the deaths of an American man and two Danish women in Van Vieng, but there was no mention of the two Australians or a British woman who also died of suspected methanol poisoning.
The men detained were identified as hotel staff and management.
The Australian Federal Police has offered to help the Laos investigation, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese telling parliament the government had made it clear to officials they expect a thorough and transparent investigation.
A fundraiser for the families had raised $330,000 as of Wednesday morning, prompting loved ones to expand their efforts to raise awareness of methanol poisoning.
Its three goals are to relieve financial burdens for the families, support methanol poisoning education measures and funding awareness campaigns.
The grieving families are now seeking to raise $500,000.
“Your contributions, kind words, and willingness to share their story have inspired us beyond measure,” the Jones and Bowles families said in a statement released on their gofundme page on Tuesday.
The friends were on holiday when they became ill and failed to check out at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on November 13 after going to the Jaidee Bar.
They were evacuated to Thailand and died in separate Bangkok hospitals after their parents raced to be by their bedsides.
Two young Danish women, a British lawyer and an American man in his 50s also died from the contaminated drinks.
A New Zealand citizen who was among those poisoned has left Laos and returned home, according to the country’s embassy in Bangkok.
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