Tourists in the popular backpacker town of Vang Vieng, Laos, are on high alert after an incidence of mass methanol poisoning that has killed at least six tourists and injured more. Two Australian teens, two Danes, one woman from the UK, and an American man have been confirmed dead.
European backpackers have been going to Vang Vieng in large numbers for two decades. It has a reputation for river sports and partying at the many bars and restaurants. The rowdy, and sometimes dangerous, atmosphere that largely defined the town for tourists in the past has been reigned in with more regulation over the years. The new methanol poisoning incidents have raised new safety fears and led to travel alerts from the governments of the United States and other countries. More than 600,000 tourists visited Vang Vieng in 2023, according to the AP.