The mother of a British woman who died of methanol poisoning while backpacking with friends told of her ‘horrendous’ 16-hour travel to Laos as her daughter’s life hung in the balance.
Sue White, 61, said it was a ‘terrible, terrible journey’ from Heathrow via Thailand, knowing that Simone White, 28, was undergoing emergency brain surgery.
After receiving the phone call that her daughter was in a critical condition, she said: ‘Call it a mother’s intuition — but I knew that she was going to die.’
The young lawyer from Orpington in Kent was one of a number of people taken to hospital in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol.
While her two friends who were also taken to hospital recovered, it became clear that Simone’s brain function was gone, and her mother switched off her ventilator on November 21, nine days after she drank the free vodka shots suspected of killing her.
Sue told The Sunday Times she wanted to warn all other young travellers: ‘Please be careful when it comes to drinks.
‘Simone was a university educated, highly intelligent person.
‘If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.’
Methanol is is very similar to ethanol – the pure form of alcohol in alcoholic drinks.
But unlike ethanol it has a different chemical structure that makes it toxic for humans if they consume it.
Once swallowed, our enzymes metabolise methanol into formaldehyde, the substance used to make industrial glue and embalming substances, before breaking it down into formic acid.
It can be found naturally in some homebrewed or bootleg alcohol, and is sometimes also added to drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol.
But even a mouthful can be fatal, and the danger may not be immediately obvious. Typically there is a latent period of 12 to 24 hours after ingestion before symptoms appear.
The toxic substance can cause organ damage and blindness.
Police in Laos have detained several people in connection with the death of Ms White and five others, who are also believed to have been poisoned.
She was a lawyer with global law firm Squire Patton Boggs, whose work involved general commercial matters, and contentious and non-contentious intellectual property law issues, according to the firm’s website.
In an earlier statement, her parents said: ‘Simone was one of a kind and had the most wonderful energy and spark for life.
‘She was a soul who gave so much to so many and was loved by her family, friends and colleagues.’
She had been ‘taken far too soon’ and would be ‘sorely missed by her brother, grandmother and entire family’.
They added: ‘Our hearts go out to all other families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.’
Ms White’s law firm described her as a ‘talented colleague with a bright future’.
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