The bodies of two Melbourne teenagers who died in Laos after suspected methanol poisoning have been returned home. Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were among six foreign tourists who died after drinking tainted cocktails. It comes as Laos officials detained eight men over the mass poisoning.
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00:00A heart-wrenching homecoming, the bodies of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles touched down
00:10on Australian soil, escorted by their grieving fathers.
00:14We want to grieve. We miss our daughters desperately.
00:19Bianca and Holly were on the trip of a lifetime in Laos, when they fell violently ill after
00:24drinking methanol-tainted cocktails while staying at the Na Na Backpackers Hostel, the
00:29best friends dying in separate Thai hospitals, surrounded by their loved ones.
00:35Last week, the hostel's owner told the ABC the poisoned drinks did not come from his
00:40bar.
00:41A lot of people online are saying that the poisoned drinks came from your bar. Is that
00:46true?
00:47No, possibly.
00:48But today, that man is a suspect. Laos police saying they've detained eight men who staffed
00:54and managed the hostel as they investigate the mass poisoning.
00:57I was happy to hear that there's been some movement over in Laos. I would continue to
01:04urge the Laos government to continue to pursue whomever.
01:08All up, it's believed six backpackers have now been fatally poisoned by methanol. And
01:13late last night, it emerged another Australian has fallen ill, but they are now in a stable
01:19condition.
01:20The Jones and Bowles families now vowing to make sure that never happens again, with an
01:25online fundraising campaign in their daughter's memory already raising more than $345,000.
01:33We will make every effort we can to help raise awareness of the methanol poisoning. We cannot
01:40have our girls passing and this continuing to happen.
01:46The pain of tragedy shaping a mission.
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