An Australian teenager and a British woman have died after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos in what Australia’s prime minister said was every parent’s nightmare

An American is among at least five tourists who have died after visiting a town in Laos where concerns have arisen about alcohol tainted with methanol.

Two Danes, two Australians, a Briton and an American died from methanol poisoning after visiting Vang Vieng, an idyllic town that is popular with foreign backpackers.

Five foreign tourists have died after a suspected mass methanol poisoning from drinking tainted alcohol at a backpacker hotspot in Laos, Western government officials and media said Thursday.Two Danish citizens and an American had also died,

The father of an Australian teenager who died from suspected methanol poisoning while on a backpacking holiday has issued a plea to the Laos government to fully investigate his daughter’s death and ensure such incidents don’t happen again.

The Lao government is "profoundly saddened" by the deaths of foreign tourists from drinking alcohol contaminated with methanol and pledged to prosecute those responsible.

A New Zealand citizen who fell ill after drinking contaminated alcohol in Laos has returned home following the deaths of six tourists due to supected methanol poisoning. New Zealand’s foreign ministry had earlier reported that one of its citizens fell ill in Laos and was believed to be a victim of the poisoning.

Six travelers have died from suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, Laos. Most of these incidents occur in Asia, according to Doctors Without Borders.