A Russian tourist's vacation to a popular Asian resort - the Indonesian island of Bali - turned into a tragedy a few days after her arrival. The compatriot drank local alcohol and felt unwell. On the way to the hospital, she fell into a coma. Doctors later diagnosed the woman with methanol poisoning. Details about the incident are in the Lenta.ru article.
The Russian woman fell into a coma at the very beginning of her vacation
50-year-old Sochi resident Anna flew to the resort with her boyfriend on May 31. On June 1, the tourist decided to try local wine from a roadside store, and the next day she felt unwell: she had breathing problems, nausea, chills and photophobia.
The woman had to be hospitalized. On the way to the hospital, she lost consciousness and fell into a coma. Despite the fact that doctors cleaned the blood, Anna never came to her senses. The patient, who was in critical condition, had to be put on a ventilator. Antibiotics prescribed by doctors did not help my compatriot; after a few days she developed sepsis, and her pupils stopped responding to light.
The victim's friend suggested that the drink contained methyl alcohol
Anna’s friend, who is in Vietnam and cannot fly to Bali due to difficulties with documents, suggested that the bottle of wine could contain methyl alcohol - the most toxic compound among all alcohols, a strong poison of nervous and cardiovascular effects, a common cause of poisoning with surrogate alcohol. Methanol oxidizes in the human body more slowly than ethyl alcohol, and during this process various toxic substances are formed.
“Literally 5-10 milliliters of methanol can cause severe poisoning and blindness, and 30 milliliters can be fatal. With very large doses, poisoning occurs at lightning speed, death occurs within two to three hours,” toxicologist Mikhail Zakharov told NEWS.ru.
According to Anna’s friend, the woman could have chosen this particular brand of wine, since it is quite famous in Bali. “But apparently it’s being faked,” she added.
The tourist’s young man did not drink the dangerous drink and is now trying to solve all the necessary problems. “He’s been with her from the very beginning: he visits the hospital, runs around on all sorts of errands - paperwork and so on... He’s just a hero! We made a chat, there are 30 of us there, everyone is doing something, but this is nonsense compared to the contribution that he makes,” noted Anna’s friend.
Tests show the tourist's brain is no longer active
Later, doctors confirmed severe methanol poisoning. According to the latest tests, the Russian woman suffered brain death. Anna's 75-year-old mother still intends to fight for her daughter's life, and now volunteers in a special group on Telegram are looking for funds to transport her to another hospital, continue treatment and conduct additional research.
Since travel insurance does not cover cases related to alcohol, the cost of medical services has already exceeded two million rubles, of which only one million has so far been collected. Due to a large debt, Anna's mother is planning to sell the apartment.
What is known about other cases of alcohol poisoning in Bali
Anna is not the first victim of alcohol containing methanol at this Asian resort. A similar incident occurred with American Ashley King in 2011. On the last day of her vacation, the girl ordered a tropical cocktail with vodka in one of the bars in the Kuta area. The traveler then traveled to New Zealand and her condition worsened over the next two days of the trip.
According to the American, when she was taken to the nearest hospital, she no longer saw anything. Doctors found out that there was a large amount of methanol in the girl’s body. Miraculously, she managed to survive, but she still suffers from the effects of poisoning.
“Now I'm blind. I had about two percent of my vision left and it was by far the most traumatic and difficult thing I've ever had to endure. I had to learn to live again,” the girl admitted.
In 2023, a 26-year-old tourist from Australia collapsed outside his hotel while on vacation in Bali. The young man was hospitalized. At the hospital, he was diagnosed with respiratory distress, low glucose levels and high blood potassium levels. The patient was placed in an induced coma and transferred to the intensive care unit. Medical workers suspected that the tourist was poisoned by alcohol.
That same year, a tourist from New Zealand drank an alcoholic drink in a nightclub in Bali and convulsed on the floor of the establishment's toilet. His friends urgently contacted a specialist involved in the protection of tourists. He immediately determined that the victim was poisoned by methanol. Thanks to timely assistance, the New Zealander soon felt better.
Tourists in Bali are warned of high risks of poisoning
Methanol poisoning remains a major problem on the Indonesian island. According to local media, every year there are dozens of unofficial reports of poisonings of both local residents and tourists, which end in death. Therefore, as the peak season approaches, experts are launching updated information campaigns.
Not only international organizations, but also activists are working to raise people's awareness of the consequences of methanol poisoning. One of them, Colin Ahern from Australia, created a group on Facebook (owned by the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist and banned in the Russian Federation) with the telling title “Just don’t drink alcohol in Bali.” It regularly contains tips on how to reduce the likelihood of methanol poisoning while on vacation.
In particular, tourists in Bali are advised to completely abstain from drinking strong alcohol, especially if there is no certainty about its origin, or to drink only alcohol purchased at duty free on the way to the resort. Beautiful labels on bottles do not guarantee quality, since they are often re-taped from factory bottles.
In addition, alcoholic cocktails pose a great danger - you can easily mix a surrogate into them, which will not affect the taste in any way. And fatal symptoms will appear within a few hours. Without prompt treatment, poisoning can lead to coma, brain damage and death.
