Methanol poisoning victims are brought home by grieving family

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It was the end of a heartbreaking journey for the families of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles as their plane touched down at Melbourne Airport.
The bodies of their teenage daughters were on board and delivered home to be laid to rest.
A week ago their parents had rushed to the hospital bedsides of their ailing daughters in Thailand, after they fell violently ill with what’s suspected to be methanol poisoning.
But they’re now facing an almost indescribable loss.
These are the words of grieving father Mark Jones upon his arrival.
“We want to grieve, we miss our daughters desperately. I was happy to hear that there’s been movement over in Laos – I would continue to urge the Lao government to continue to pursue whomever.”
The families landing back home in Melbourne from Bangkok to news of a significant development in the case.
The first arrests have been made by Laos police investigating the deaths of six backpackers from suspected methanol poisoning in the popular tourist town of Vang Vieng.
Eight people have been detained for questioning.
All of them are linked to the Nana Backpackers hostel, where the 19-year-old Melbourne best friends had stayed.
The venue has been shut down as police investigate further.
It’s believed the tourists consumed tainted alcohol on a night out.
A third Australian and dual national has now been confirmed to be among those to fall ill, but is in a stable condition.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs told SBS:
“Australian officials in Laos and Thailand are working closely with local authorities. Investigations are underway and we are offering any assistance we can provide.”
Bianca and Holly had been on a dream getaway travelling through South East Asia.
A Go-Fund-Me page set up for their families has so far collected almost 350,000 dollars, as they push to raise more awareness about the hidden danger that tragically cut short the lives of their loved ones.
“The methanol poisoning, we just cannot have our girls passing and this continuing to happen.”
Mark Jones is sharing his gratitude to all helping them honour the memory of their daughters.
“I’d just like to say heartfelt thanks to all the support we’ve been getting – it’s obviously been a horrendous time for the Bowles’ and for us. We genuinely appreciate the support we’ve been getting from here, from abroad from the government has been amazing, the federal police so we’ve been incredibly overwhelmed all of that.”