Bianca Jones’ father breaks his silence after his daughter and her friend were poisoned to death while holidaying in Laos – as disturbing details emerge about their deadly drinks

The father of a Melbourne teenager who died of suspected methanol poisoning from drinks served in Laos said his daughter was a victim for her ‘lust for life and adventure’ whose life had been ‘cruelly cut short’. 

Bianca Jones and her friend Holly Bowles, both aged 19, fell ill after partying in the Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng with Ms Jones dying in hospital on Thursday, and Ms Bowles on Friday. 

Mark Jones, the father of Bianca, said his daughter ‘was on the trip of a lifetime with one of her best mates’. 

‘This was meant to be a trip full of lifelong memories, and was to be the first of many,’ Mr Jones said.

‘Bianca wanted to explore the world, meet new friends, lead and create change for good.’

Mr Jones also made a plea to the government of Laos.

‘I would like to take this opportunity to urge the Laos government to investigate this to the fullest extent, to make sure this incident doesn’t happen again,’ he told The Age.

‘We can’t have the passing of our daughter … not lead to change to protect others.

The Laos government on Saturday publicly acknowledged the tragedy for the first time, saying it was ‘profoundly saddened’. 

‘The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find the causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law,’ a statement said. 

‘The [government] reaffirms that it always attaches importance and pays attention to the safety of both domestic and foreign tourists.’ 

Six people have so far died in the suspected poisoning incident with least 10 others seriously ill after drinking spirits believed to have been a cheap and deadly form of illicit alcohol.

An American man was found dead in his hostel room next to two empty bottles of vodka, while two Danish women were discovered unconscious on their bathroom floor, a Laos government document revealed.

Mr Jones and her friend Holly Bowles, both aged 19, fell ill and later died after a night partying in the Laos tourist town of Vang Vieng

The police document named the American as James Louis Hutson, 57, and the Danish women as Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, according to the document seen by The Age. 

The deaths have not been independently verified. 

British woman Simone White, 28, is also among the dead.

Police ordered the closure of Nana Backpacker Hostel on Fridy, where the Australians and other travellers were staying when they were rushed to hospital.

The Age said locals reported that the hostel Nana had been serving free shots of alcohol just before they became sick.

Methanol has been known to be used in homemade alcohol in southeast Asia.

Nana Hostel bartender Duong Duc Toan has been detained and questioned by police.

The bartended has denied his vodka is tainted and said it was made in a factory. He even went as far as to drink some himself when interviewed by reporters. 

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