Young vacationers wanted to toast with a cocktail, now they are fighting for their lives

Thailand/Laos - After finishing school, two teenagers from Melbournewanted to spend their vacation in the southeast of Asia. A short time later, the two were fighting for their lives in hospital. The reason was the cocktails!

Last year, Holly Bowl (left, 19) and Bianca Jones (right, 19) graduated from high school. To celebrate, the two friends traveled to Asia.
Last year, Holly Bowl (left, 19) and Bianca Jones (right, 19) graduated from high school. To celebrate, the two friends traveled to Asia.  © facebook: holly.bowl.5

As the Australian news channel"7News" reports, Holly Bowl (19) and Bianca Jones (19) felt the first symptoms of their illness last Friday.

At the time, they were staying in a hostel near the border between Thailand and Laos.

The teenagers' condition quickly deteriorated, which is why they were flown directly to two hospitals in Bangkok and Udon Thani. Once there, the shock diagnosis followed: both were suffering from methanol poisoning!

As the "Methanol Institute" told the news channel, even tiny amounts of 25 to 90 milliliters of methanol can be fatal to humans.

Holly Bowl and Bianca Jones are not isolated cases

To save costs, cocktails in some bars are diluted with toxic methanol. (symbolic image)
To save costs, cocktails in some bars are diluted with toxic methanol. (symbolic image)  © Patrick Pleul/dpa

According to "7News", in addition to the two women, there are ten other people who are currently fighting for their lives due to methanol poisoning. Two more people have already died as a result.

The "Methanol Institute" states that such poisonings often occur in countries where there is a high tax rate on ethanol and ethanol-containing products. In order to avoid this tax, toxic methanol is deliberately mixed into various cocktails in these countries, as it is cheaper than ethanol - the "normal" drinking alcohol.

In an interview with the broadcaster, emergency physician Doctor Stephan Parnis describes such poisoning as follows:

"The symptoms include severe abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. The poisoning can also affect the brain. The person affected can fall into a coma and become temporarily or even permanently blind. In the worst case, methanol can kill the person. It is therefore important that the poisoning is recognized as early as possible so that specialists can treat it in a hospital."