Brother of British Tourist Who Died in Laos Methanol Poisoning Calls Lack of Charges a 'Slap in the Face'

The brother of a British tourist who died in a mass methanol poisoning says the failure to charge anyone over her death is a "slap in the face".

Simone White, 28, was one of six people who died after drinking free shots at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, in November 2024.

Last week authorities in the South-East Asian country said they couldn't determine if the deaths "were caused by the actions of any individual or by any particular cause, because no autopsies were conducted".

Simone's brother, Zak told BBC Newsbeat he found the conclusion "pretty ridiculous", as a death certificate issued in Laos lists "methanol toxicity" as one of her causes of death.

Trainee lawyer Simone and childhood friend Bethany Clarke were among about 100 guests given free shots thought to be tainted with methanol.

They felt unwell the next day and were taken to hospital, where Simone, from Orpington in south-east London, was put on life support before she died.

Two Australians, two Danish citizens and an American also died after drinking the shots.

Medical documents seen by Newsbeat state methanol was found in Bethany's blood in November 2024.

"For them to say there's not really enough evidence, I think for me and my parents, it's a bit of a slap in the face, really," says Zak.

"If you've got a death certificate with that on it, surely there's enough proof?"

Zak previously said his family had braced themselves for an unsatisfying resolution to the case as authorities were "not very forthcoming with trying to speed things along".

The case will remain open for 15 years, but Bethany says she is "not expecting much" from the Laos legal system in future.

"To my mind it's very clear what's happened," she says.

"I don't know why it should take a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion of what's happened here."

Since her death, Simone's family and her best friend Bethany have been pushing for greater awareness of the dangers of methanol through their MethaKnow campaign.

The UK government recently launched its own awareness campaign and added warnings for 29 destinations including Indonesia, Laos and Vietnam on their official travel advice pages.

Bethany and Zak say this has been helpful but feel they have been "left in the dark" by the UK government when it comes to updates in the case.

Both say they are still waiting to hear back from the UK Foreign Office since the Laos statement last week and have relied on affected Danish and Australian families for information.

"I'm like the last person to the party and know nothing about it," says Bethany, who lives in Australia.

"When I'm being asked to speak on radio stations and I'm actually none the wiser and I'm trying to flick through articles trying to work out what's going on - it is a little bit stressful."

A Foreign Office spokesperson acknowledged the "bereaved families have endured a long and painful wait for answers" and said the latest update was "undoubtedly a source of further grief and frustration".

They said the UK had been clear with Laos that it expects "robust action to be taken against those responsible" and said officials remained in "close contact" with Simone's family.

Newsbeat found vacancies for the rebranded Paradise Hostel available on Booking.com this week.

The new listing was temporarily removed earlier this year due to a breach of the holiday website's terms and conditions, a spokesperson said.

They said this was in response to "unusual activity" in its review section.

The spokesperson added that there was proof that a new owner had taken over the hostel.

Zak and Bethany both feel booking sites should be providing a warning to travellers about what has previously happened at the hostel.

Methanol is a poisonous, colourless liquid sometimes mixed and sold illegally as alcohol.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning can include:

Vomiting, poor judgement, loss of balance and drowsiness in the early stages

Abdominal pain, vertigo, hyperventilation, breathlessness, blurred vision and/or blindness, coma and convulsions 12-48 hours after drinking

Vision issues such as blurring, difficulty looking at bright lights or complete blindness in some cases are a "red flag" warning sign.