Laos Court Charges Distillery Owner in Methanol Deaths of Six Backpackers

A Laos court charged the owner of a distillery linked to the methanol poisoning deaths of six backpackers with selling food harmful to health and operating an illegal business, Denmark’s foreign ministry announced Friday. The Guardian reported that the two Australian victims, Bianca Jones and Holly Morton-Bowles, both 19, died after drinking at Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng in November 2024.

Two Danish women, one British woman and one American man also died in the incident.

If convicted, the distillery owner faces a prison term of three months to four years plus a fine. The case will remain open for 15 years, and more serious charges such as negligent homicide can still be filed if sufficient proof emerges, the ministry said. The announcement took place at the Ministry of Public Security in Vientiane.

Associated Press was denied access to cover the proceedings. Shaun Bowles, father of Holly Morton-Bowles, said he was devastated that the charges did not reflect the seriousness of the case. ” Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated she was “deeply frustrated and bitterly disappointed” that authorities were not pursuing the most serious charges.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Wong dispatched an envoy to Laos on Friday to demand justice, and Australian officials summoned Laos’ ambassador to Canberra. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he was deeply disappointed that the indictment did not reflect the seriousness of the tragedy.

The victims had stayed at the hostel, where some reportedly consumed free shots of Laotian vodka before going elsewhere.