British teenager Lee Bartlett, 19, was found dead at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on May 3, 2019 – and his parents fear he suffered the same fate as those who died from recent methanol poisonings
The parents of a British teen who was found dead at the same Laos hostel six others died after drinking shots laced with methanol believe their son may have been poisoned in the same way.
19-year-old Lee Bartlett died at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on May 3, 2019, and was found unresponsive in the early hours of the morning by pal Flynn Fawcett. The roofer, from Rhoose near Barry, south west Wales, was two months into the “dream trip” backpacking around Asia.
His dad Mark, 57, says that he now fears his son suffered the same fate as those who died from recent methanol poisonings at the accommodation, the Sun reports. Dad-of-four Mark said: “As soon as we saw the methanol poisonings on the news, it crossed our minds that the same thing might have happened to our son.
“We’ve always wondered exactly what went on, but we’ve never really been able to get to the bottom of it unfortunately.
“This has brought it all back for us. My wife has been awake until the early hours of the morning thinking about it. It’s one of those things that never goes away – it’s always there.” He added: “The loss of Lee absolutely devastated us. He was a great lad.”
Lee was found to have suffered no injuries before his death, with no evidence of assault or restraint, an inquest at Pontypridd Coroners’ Court at the time heard. Assistant Coroner Nadim Bashir was not able to determine a cause of death due to “insufficient evidence”.
In the last two weeks, six travellers staying at the hostel have died after allegedly drinking shots laced with methanol. British lawyer Simone White, from Kent, died last Thursday after she fell ill from drinking free shots mixed with the deadly chemical, while the Danish Ministry for Foreign Affairs confirmed two young women from Denmark, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald, 21, had also passed away.
Last week, the US State Department confirmed the death of a 56-year-old male US citizen in Vang Vieng. Australian teenagers Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, also died after suffering alleged methanol poisoning while on holiday to Laos. Up to 12 other holidaymakers are still being treated in hospital.
Guests staying at the Nana Backpacker hostel are offered free shots for two hours every night. The hostel’s owner, Duong Duc Toan, has denied any responsibility, saying 100 guests were given vodka on the night of the alleged poisoning, but just a handfull fell ill.
Lee’s dad Mark and mum Helen, 56, believe police failed to properly investigate their son’s death. Defence contractor worker Mark said: “We never saw anything from the police in Laos. They just classed it as sudden death – a natural thing. I don’t think there was any investigation ever done.
“We would’ve liked to have got some answers at the time, but there’s not a lot you can do in countries like that. They don’t really investigate anything – they just accept that these things happen and move on… Lee was a fit and healthy guy, so there was no real reason why he would suddenly die. We’ve always thought that there was something not quite right.”
Eight hostel staff members were arrested on Monday as Laos’ government pomised to “bring the perpetrators to justice.”
The hostel remains closed while police continue their investigation.
