Fiji resort denies replacing drink ingredients as seven hospitalised in suspected mass poisoning
16 December 2024, 09:30 | Updated: 16 December 2024, 09:38
Fiji’s health ministry has described the suspected alcohol poisoning of seven tourists as “nothing like they’ve seen.”
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Seven tourists on the island of Fiji were treated in hospital for suspected alcohol poisoning over the weekend.
The tourists - aged between 18 and 56 - had been in a “critical condition” after drinking cocktails at a five-star resort.
The group, including Australians and Americans, were staying at the five-star Warwick resort, near the town of Sigatoka on Saturday.
They reportedly fell ill on Saturday night local time after drinking cocktails at a resort bar.
Following this, the individuals started to experience nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms.
Local media has reported that four of the seven are Australian.
Two people remain in the hospital, conscious and in stable condition, Fiji's Tourism Minister Viliame R Gavoka told reporters on Monday.
One person was discharged on Sunday and four others on Monday.
David Sandoe, an Australian man who said his daughter and granddaughter were hospitalised, told Sky News Australia on Monday his relatives had been cleared for discharge.
Jemesa Tudravu, a Fiji Health Ministry spokesperson, said the incident was “nothing like” they’ve seen in recent memory.
“The resort management has assured us that they have not engaged in practices such as substituting ingredients or altering the quality of drinks served to guests," he said.
"This is the only reported case of its kind that we've experienced in recent memory, and certainly nothing like this has been experienced this year," he added.
The incident comes after a suspected mass methanol poisoning incident in Laos, South East Asia, where six tourists tragically died as a result.
The tourists were reportedly given free shots as a show of hospitality by staff at Nana Backpackers Hostel.
Methanol is a a deadly substance often present in homemade alcohol.
Australian backpacker Holly Bowles, 19, had been in critical condition in a Bangkok hospital after she allegedly drank alcohol laced with the toxic chemical methanol.
The teen died nine days later after attending Dr Yaher’s emergency room with her friend Bianca Jones, becoming the sixth tourist to pass away in connection to the contaminated alcohol.
British lawyer Simone White, 28, an American man and two Danish tourists also died due to the suspected methanol poisoning in Laos.
Local authorities in Laos have vowed to “bring the perpetrators to justice” as they said the tourist town was “deeply saddened” by the incident.“
The government of the Lao PDR is profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists in Vangvieng District, Vientiane Province and expresses its sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased,' a police statement said.“
The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law.
"The government of the Lao PDR reaffirms that it always attaches the importance and pays attention to the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists.”
