Six people are so far dead, with the cause suspected as methanol-tainted drinks in the town of Vang Vieng, Laos.

Methanol is a pure form of alcohol, typically found in industrial-strength products like paint stripper or petrol. It does not have a distinct smell or colour, and it’s toxic to humans.

Holly Bowles, 19, passed away in a Bangkok hospital after being on life support, bringing the confirmed death toll to six.

Melbourne teenager Holly Bowles has died in a Thai hospital nine days after consuming a suspected methanol-tainted drink in Laos, her father has confirmed.

Melbourne teenager Bianca Jones has died in a Thai hospital after consuming drinks laced with methanol in Laos. She is one of five people who have died from this incident, after a British woman also died from the poisoning.

An Australian teenager has become the sixth foreign tourist to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos, as a growing list of countries warned of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking tainted alcohol in the Southeast Asian country.

Holly Bowles has become the sixth person and second Australian to die after a suspected methanol poisoning event in Laos, her family has confirmed.

A second young Australian tourist died in a Thai hospital on Friday, bringing the death toll related to suspected methanol poisoning during a night out in a Laos backpacker hotspot

A second Australian teenager has died of suspected methanol poisoning, bringing to six the number of foreign tourists who have died after apparently drinking tainted alcohol in Laos. The family of Holly Bowles,