Seven foreign tourists, including an American, were hospitalized in Fiji after drinking cocktails at a resort bar, Fijian authorities announced Monday, just weeks later. six tourists died of suspected alcohol poisoning in another incident in Laos.
All seven were taken to hospital Saturday evening suffering from “nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms,” according to the Fijian Ministry of Health.
They fell ill after drinking pina colada cocktails made at a bar at the five-star Warwick Fiji resort on the Coral Coast, about 45 miles west of the capital Suva, officials said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said the seven guests, aged between 18 and 56, included four Australians, one American and two others whose nationality was not specified.
One of the patients was discharged from Sigatoka Hospital near the hotel on Sunday, Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said.
The other six were transferred to the larger hospital in Lautoka, on the island’s west coast, he said. Two of them were released earlier Monday and two others are expected to leave later today.
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The two remaining patients at Lautoka Hospital were in “stable condition” in intensive care, he told a news conference.
David Sandoe, an Australian who said his daughter and granddaughter had been hospitalized, told Sky News Australia his loved ones had been released from hospital and were expected to return home Monday evening.
The Ministry of Health and Fiji Police were investigating the cause, Gavoka said, adding that results of “critical” toxicology tests normally take three or four days.
“Everyone is in disbelief that this happened,” he said.
When asked if the illness could be linked to methanol poisoning, Gavoka said it was “something we don’t believe is possible in Fiji”.
While declining to speculate on the cause, he said it was a “very isolated incident.”
Fijian tourism, which attracts almost a million people each year, is “generally very safe”, he said.
The minister said he did not believe this was the result of a deliberate action.
The bar at the affected hotel was “very busy” in the evening, he added, but only seven people were put off by the pina coladas, which are normally “pretty harmless”.
A spokesperson for the Warwick Fiji Hotel said it was investigating and awaiting test results from health authorities.
“At this time we do not have conclusive details, but we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our customers,” the spokesperson said.
Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs said it was providing consular assistance to two families, but declined further comment citing “privacy obligations”.
In another incident in Laos last month, two Danish citizens, an American, a British and two Australians. died of suspected methanol poisoning following what local media said was a night out in the town of Vang Vieng. Among the victims are Briton Simone White, 28, two young Australians, Holly Bowles and her best friend Bianca Jones, as well as two young Danes, Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, the BBC reported. Only one of the victims, James Louis Hutson, a 57-year-old American citizen, was a man.
The police were arrested the manager of the Nana Backpacker hostel, aged 34, and seven other employees for questioning.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
