Australia’s foreign minister has met with her Lao counterpart to demand answers over the deaths of two teenagers who were holidaying in the country.
Two 19-year-old Australians, Holly Morton-Bowles and Bianca Jones, died after what was believed to have been mass methanol poisoning from tainted drinks at Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024.
Lao officials previously said they did not have enough evidence to lay charges, so autopsies on the two young women were not carried out.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with Thongsavanh Phomvihane while at a conference in the Philippines to express Australia’s anger that serious charges were not pursued.
The meeting follows Australia’s special envoy, Pablo Kang, travelling to Laos last week over the matter.
“Holly and Bianca’s families deserve justice,” Senator Wong said in a statement to AAP.
“I made clear that Australia expects the Lao government to ensure this investigation fully reflects the seriousness of this tragedy and that those responsible are held properly to account.”
It is understood officials tested the “Tiger Vodka” consumed and found higher than permitted standards of methanol.
The toxic substance was also found in the bloodstream of both women, who died in Thailand after being moved for medical treatment.
Two Danish women, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, along with UK woman Simone White and American man James Louis Hutson, all died in Laos about the same time.
Lao media have said charges have been filed against the owner of the Tiger vodka distillery, but the charges have not been directly linked to the deaths.
Danish and Australian officials have offered differing accounts of what the maximum penalty for the distillery owner could be, ranging from one year to four years in prison.
Foreign media have not been allowed into press conferences run by officials in Laos about the deaths.
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