The dad of 19-year-old Holly Bowles, who died of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos said she was ‘everything you’d want your daughter to be.’
Holly was travelling in south east Asia with her best friend Bianca Jones when they fell ill.
Bianca died on November 21 and Holly a day later during what was meant to be a trip of a lifetime for the pair.
They drank alcohol suspected to contain methanol, a toxic substance.
Holly’s dad, Shaun Bowles, said he was in ‘disbelief’ when he found out she would not pull through.
He told the BBC: ‘She was just full of life. She was confident, she was loving, she was just a true friend of people.
‘She was everything you want your daughter to be.
‘They were having an unbelievable time, just having so much fun, doing what two 19-year-old girls should be doing.
‘They were just having an absolute blast.’
Holly was one of six tourists who died in the small town of Vang Vieng which is popular with tourists.
She was the sixth person to die in hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, after being on life-support for 10 days.
British lawyer Simone White, two Danish women and an American man also died.
Simone’s family paid tribute to their ‘kind and loving daughter’.
They 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.
‘Simone has been taken from us too soon, she will be sorely missed by her brother, grandmother and entire family.
‘Our hearts go out to all other families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.’
Holly’s family previously said: ‘It is with broken hearts and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace.
‘As her parents we were always so incredibly proud of everything Holly did. Holly was an amazing big sister to James and she always looked out for him.
‘We would like to thank everyone from back home, in Canada and around the world for the love and support that Holly and our family have received.’
Eight people have been arrested in connection with the case.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
