Expert reveals gruesome details of methanol as Australian government responds to Melbourne teen poisoning with updated travel advice for Laos

Best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were on a dream holiday in South East Asia when they became desperately ill after drinking alcoholic drinks containing methanol – a toxic chemical often found in detergents.

The two 19-year-old boys are now fighting for their lives in different hospitals in Bangkok, with their families waiting desperately at their bedsides.

The incident prompted the government to update travel advisories for Laos, and the Smartraveller website warned Australian tourists of the dangers of methanol poisoning.

“In November 2024, several foreign nationals, including Australians, were the victims of suspected methanol poisoning due to the consumption of alcoholic beverages,” according to Smartraveller’s latest update.

“Be aware of potential risks, especially with alcoholic beverages, including cocktails.”

The Smartraveller website then directs potential tourists to the “safety” section of Laos travel tips and the “safe partying” page.

The updated travel advice comes after a forensic expert revealed the terrifying truth about the toxic chemical.

Consuming just 25 to 90ml of methanol can be fatal, but Professor David Ranson, from Monash University’s Department of Forensic Medicine, said that because methanol is “smellless, colourless and tasteless” it was really “impossible” for the average traveler to tell if it was in their drink or not

Professor Ranson spoke to Sky News Australia about why methanol poisoning is so dangerous and how it can be treated.

“Methanol is actually a very, very unpleasant alcoholic substance … but the problem is less with the methanol itself, which of course can be an intoxicant,” he said.

“(The problem is that) it breaks down in the body during metabolism into two very nasty chemicals; one is formaldehyde – a type of chemical used in embalming etc – and then formic acid.

“And formic acid actually kills cells in the body, and that leads to a whole range of symptoms. They have abdominal pain, shortness of breath, chest pain, and often visual disturbances.

“Indeed, they can go blind.”

The former head of forensic medicine at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine said that to treat the methanol poisoning suffered by Ms Jones and Ms Bowles, doctors would need to prevent their bodies from breaking down the methanol.

Surprisingly, Professor Ranson said this could actually be done with a standard form of alcohol in drinks.

“What you want to do is block the breakdown of methanol in the body so that the methanol is just excreted naturally,” he said.

“Methanol is broken down by alcohol dehydrogenase…there are several drugs that can block this enzyme.

“In fact, ethanol itself—the alcohol commonly found in beverages—is also an agent that can be used to treat methanol poisoning, usually in the early stages.

“But at the end of the day, it’s supportive therapy. Often this is renal dialysis. There are a number of things that need to be done to get methanol out of the body and stop it from turning into these very nasty byproducts.”

Despite its toxicity, methanol is sometimes added to smuggled alcoholic beverages as a cheap alternative to ethanol.

Professor Ranson said that while it occurs in places “all over the world”, there have been a few cases in Southeast Asia in recent years.

“These outbreaks are often linked to the replacement or dilution of alcoholic beverages by adding methanol to make them go further,” he said.

“And it’s obvious that methanol is a cheaper alcohol. It’s an effective industrial cleaner, so it’s easy to get and easy to add to drinks.”

The two teenagers from Melbourne were staying at the Nana Backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, about 90 minutes’ drive from the capital Vientiane, when they fell ill.

It is known that they drank free alcoholic drinks in the hostel bar the night before they fell ill.

However, the hostel management denies serving contaminated drinks, insisting that guests of several hostels in the area have been affected.

When the Herald Sun visited the place, barman Toan Van Vanng was keen to prove that the drinks the girls were drinking at the hostel were not tainted by pouring the same vodka and coke the girls were drinking before drinking them himself.

It is reported that 10 people were injured as a result of mass methanol poisoning, two Swedish citizens have already died.

The families of the Melbourne girls have spoken of their shock at what happened and the anxious wait they are now living through.