Australia has warned travelers against drinking spirits made by a Laos distiller, following the deaths of six foreign tourists from suspected methanol poisoning in the Southeast Asian country.

SINGAPORE: Laos has banned the sale and consumption of a brand of whisky and vodka following the death of six tourists from suspected methanol poisoning earlier this month. This is according to Smartraveller,

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of a number of people taken to hospital after the incident in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng last week

The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

The death of six foreigners in Vang Vieng threatens to undermine the government’s desperate attempts to revive its tourism sector.

Eight staff members of a backpacker hostel in Laos have been detained by local authorities as they investigate the deaths of six foreign tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, according to state-affiliated media in the Southeast Asian country.