Urgent advice for tourists as parent warns ‘take country off bucket list’ after daughters died on holiday

Tourists heading out around the world who are worried about what they might be drinking have travel advice available.

This comes after the parents of teenagers who died from methanol poisoning after drinking what they thought was alcohol urged others to be careful.

Australian women Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, died last November while on a holiday in Laos. They were two of six to die in a serious poisoning event at the Nana Backpackers hostel in Vang Vieng.

The tourists had unknowingly consumed drinks which had been laced with methanol, which is incredibly dangerous even in small amounts, and their families have urged others to stay away to avoid a similar incident.

They've also hit out at officials in Laos, claiming there has been 'no evidence whatsoever to suggest there is any type of investigation going on' and that 'no individual or organisation has been held accountable' for what happened to their children.

Vang Vieng, Laos, where six people died in a methanol poisoning incident last year (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Methanol poisoning in Laos

Six tourists in total were killed after drinking methanol-laced drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos.

They were 28-year-old British lawyer Simone White, 28, Australian teenagers Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, Danish friends Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, and 57-year-old American tourist James Louis Hutson.

Several others were hospitalised, with at least five of those who died being thought to have stayed at the Nana Backpackers hostel.

A woman who survived the poisoning, Bethany Clarke, said they had been offered free shots which had been poured at a bar, and that she woke up feeling very unwell.

"You just physically can't move. It's like you are more or less paralysed," Clarke said of the ordeal that she and friend Simone White went through.

Another person, 23-year-old Calum Macdonald, said he'd been blinded for life after accepting free drinks in Vang Vieng while on holiday with his friends, explaining that he knew some of the people who had died.

A number of people were given free shots containing methanol, which can be deadly (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The signs of methanol poisoning

The UK government has released information on the signs of methanol poisoning, with the dangerous substance being hard to spot since it lacks a distinctive taste or smell, and its early effects are similar to alcohol.

Since those who died had been drinking what they'd been told were alcohol shots, they would have had pretty much no way of knowing they were consuming the thing that would kill them.

They explained that the early signs are drowsiness, loss of judgement and balance and vomiting, hence why many would mistake it for drinking too much alcohol.

Between 12 and 48 hours later, a person may suffer from abdominal pain, vertigo, hyperventilation, breathlessness, blurred vision, blindness, convulsions and could fall into a coma.

Urgent medical attention is required, as the sooner it comes, the better the chances of survival.

The government especially highlighted the vision issues as a 'red flag', with early signs being blurry vision or a difficulty in looking at bright lights. They also said to be aware of 'snowfield vision', where your eyes appear to see 'snowy static', and tunnel vision.

Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, died after drinking shots laced with methanol (Nine)

How to protect yourself

According to the government, tourists should try to avoid alcohol sold on the street or homemade drinks which come from unlabelled bottles, and to only get drinks from places licenced to sell alcohol.

They also warned that labels could be counterfeit, so the information on them wasn't always accurate.

Caution was also advised when it came to drinks which were given away for free or sold very cheaply, and warned about pre-mixed drinks 'served in buckets or jugs' in high risk tourist areas.