'No one warned us methanol was a risk.I was lucky...Simone never woke up again'

A BRITISH backpacker who survived methanol poisoning that killed her best friend and five other tourists is calling on ministers to do more to prevent future tragedies.

- By Hanna Geissler

Bethany Clarke and Simone White were on a dream holiday in Laos last year when they unknowingly drank tainted vodka at a hostel.

Within 48 hours, Simone was in a coma. After doctors broke the news that she had no chance of recovery, her mum made the heartbreaking decision to turn off her life support.

Lawyer Simone, 28, from Orpington, south-east London, was one of six tourists who died that week after consuming drinks offered free during a happy hour promotion.

Bethany, also 28, told the Express: "I feel very lucky to have survived it but less lucky that I've lost my best friend when it was just so preventable. We just should have known that drinking spirits abroad was not the done thing, but we've done it for years.

Drinks

"Simone was a very caring, bubbly person who always included people, always listened to you if you had a problem. She was extremely reliable and honest. She just had so much more to give." The pair, who met at primary school aged four and five, had enjoyed a day relaxing on a river last November before returning to their hostel in the town of Vang Vieng, central Laos.

They shared a few drinks with friends before going to bed. The next morning, something was wrong.

"We all woke up and just felt off unco-ordinated, not able to think clearly," Bethany said. "I explain it to people as like having The dementia." The friends tried to enjoy a kayaking experience. "We were both having to just lie down on the kayaks because we weren't strong enough to sit upright and paddle," Bethany added.