Photo shows simple and deadly mistake Aussies can make at popular travel destinations
An Aussie tourist concerned about possible methanol poisoning contacted an advocate for help after picking up a suspicious bottle of rum from a Bali mini mart.
An alarming photo snapped by a concerned Aussie after he returned home from a trip to Bali has highlighted just how easily tourists can make a dangerous and potentially deadly split-second mistake.
A couple of years before best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19, tragically died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos, another Melbourne resident appears to have had a close call after picking up a bottle of the popular Captain Morgan rum from an Indonesian minimart.
However, on further inspection the spiced rum didn’t have the dark amber colouring he was familiar with, being a big fan of the liquor brand. “He said it looks a lot lighter than what it should be,” Colin Ahearn, a well-known safe drink advocate, told Yahoo News Australia on Friday.
The tourist had reached out to him looking for advice after his suspicions were raised about the alcohol.
Mr Ahearn, who runs the ‘Just Don't Drink Spirits in Bali’ Facebook page, warned the traveller not to consume any of the bottle’s contents and to bring it home with him. “I said I wouldn’t drink that if my life depended on it,” Mr Ahearn recalled to Yahoo.
“It’s just not worth playing the game.”
While rare, methanol poisonings have been an obscure and ugly offshoot of capitalism on the holiday island. Methanol is a dangerous byproduct of the distillation process that has no odour and on occasion isn’t properly removed when bootleg spirits are made, and in-turn poisoning unwitting patrons.
Shocking detail in bottle of liquor bought in Bali
On his way back to Australia, the man picked up a second bottle of Captain Morgan in the duty free section while at the airport. When he got to his house he placed both side by side and took a shocking series of pictures with different backgrounds — all of which appear to show a layer of methanol settled at the top.
“There’s every chance that’s going to be poison,” Mr Ahearn told him before watching on a video call as the man took a very small sip from each.
“So the one on the right was fine, and the one on the left, he said, ‘Oh f***, that tastes entirely terrible’. That was just a holy f*** moment for him.”
If the top layer is in fact methanol, then the man could have gone blind “as a minimum” side-effect of the poisoning, Mr Ahearn said, noting he believes some tourists who do fall ill with “Bali belly” have actually suffered methanol poisoning.
“There’s that much different stuff that I’ve been sent through the years. A lot of the signs are very similar, up until the blindness — but all the stomach problems and the diarrhoea and the disorientation.”
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Mr Ahearn said drinking any liquor in Bali is just “not worth it” and encouraged travellers to stick to beer, wine and pre-mixed can drinks when wanting to crack open a cold one on holiday.
“There’s never been a case of methanol poisoning from any of those. There’s probably 30,40, 50 different kinds of pre-mixed single serve drinks that you can buy out of the mini mart fridges over there,” he said.
Tiger vodka and whisky banned in Laos following methanol poisonings
Eight people have been arrested in Laos over the suspected mass methanol poisoning earlier this month that has claimed the lives of six people. It was reported this week that a third Aussie had fallen ill but is in a stable condition.
Australian authorities have warned travellers to Laos about liquor that has now been banned in the country following the mass poisoning.
"Lao authorities have issued an order prohibiting the sale and consumption of Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whisky due to their concerns about these products being a health risk," Australia's Smartraveller service advised on Friday. It says Australians should avoid consuming these products due to serious safety concerns following the methanol poisoning of several traveller in Laos.
The bodies of Ms Jones and Ms Bowles have since been returned to Melbourne. The best mates were on a “trip of a lifetime” travelling across South East Asia when tragedy struck, leaving their families devastated.
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