Conscious tourists are carted back to their hotels in trolleys by police in Thailand – after fatal poisonings claimed six lives in nearby Laos
Tourists left unconscious after a night of heavy drinking had to be carted back to their hotels by police in Thailand, despite recent warnings following the deadly poisonings that claimed six lives in neighboring Laos.
Authorities intervened to help a German and Australian tourist back to their rooms after concerned partygoers failed to wake them at bars on the party island Koh Phi Phi in Krabi, Thailand, on November 29.
Sergeant Major Saneh Jualaong intervened to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the girls, aged 19 and 23, by borrowing a handcart from a shop on the pier and driving the pair back to their accommodation.
Footage shows the duo sitting on the trolley, slumped over as they were driven back to their hostel. The attentive official carefully maneuvered the two-wheeled cart to prevent it from falling out of place.
Their friends later helped carry them to their rooms and lug them onto their bunk beds, while the kind officer placed a blanket over one of them.
The officer then notified lobby staff of the guest’s return. The hotel owner thanked him for ensuring the safety of the tourists.
It comes after six people were killed after taking shots allegedly laced with methanol at a popular hostel in Laos’ backpacker town of Vang Vieng last month.
Authorities are still investigating the deaths of British victim Simone White and five other backpackers after their drinks were allegedly laced at the Nana backpackers hotel, raising concerns about the safety of foreign travelers in Southeast Asia.
The tourists had to be taken back to their hotel rooms in a cart after getting too drunk
A police sergeant helped the young women back to their shelter and told staff
Officials said this was not the first time they were forced to intervene and help drunken tourists
Sergeant Major Saneh Jualaong said after helping the women in Thailand at home, “I know what it’s like to have a daughter and how much we worry about them. I thought about their parents at home.
‘They were both too drunk to speak and too drunk to stand. In that condition, they may have an accident, such as falling into the sea or down a flight of stairs.
“I made sure they returned to their beds safely.”
Police Colonel Surasak Jaidee, Chief Inspector of Koh Phi Phi Police Station, added: ‘Why he used a trolley was because all routes on Koh Phi Phi are for walking, so we couldn’t use a car.
‘The motorbike could also not transport the unconscious passengers, so he had to use the trolley.
‘This wasn’t the first time police helped drunken tourists. They have been doing this for over two years.
“We understand that they come to the island to have fun. We don’t want to punish them. It’s better that we are there to help and protect them.’
Last year, police officers from Patong Police Station introduced a similar security measure, providing assistance to drunk tourists by ensuring they were transported safely to their accommodation.
This initiative is credited with helping prevent accidents and other alcohol-related incidents in the region.
The Health Ministry has previously suggested that entertainment venues looking to extend their opening hours should conduct breath tests for customers before they leave and, if necessary, arrange transport services as part of efforts to boost tourist safety.
Southeast Asia attracts millions of tourists every year who want to enjoy its culture, history and nightlife.
But concerns about the safety of foreign visitors are growing after the reported deaths of six backpackers from drinks tainted with methanol alcohol in Laos last month.
The victims included a British woman, an Australian teenager, an American and two Danes.
Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, had been on life support but succumbed on November 21.
Nana backpackers hotel manager Duong Duc Toan and bartender Toan Van Vanng denied diluting their alcohol with methanol when questioned.
Toan was later arrested, but no charges have been reported. The Lao government pledged to “bring the perpetrators to justice” in its first public comments on the international incident.
Toan said he purchased the alcohol from a certified distributor and free shots of Tiger Vodka were served to about 100 guests.
He said he had not yet received any complaints from other backpackers who had received injections that night.
He also drank from one of the vodka bottles in use that night to prove it was safe.
Simone White, 28, died in hospital last month after drinking alcohol suspected to be laced with methanol in Laos’ backpacking hotspot Vang Vien
Bianca Jones, 19, has become the fourth person to die after consuming so-called ‘methanol-laced’ drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos
Simone White was a lawyer at the global law firm Squire Patton Boggs in London
The Nana’s Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos
Hostel manager and bartender Duong Duc Toan (pictured) has reportedly been arrested
Sue White, mother of 28-year-old Simone, told how her ‘friendly, cheerful’ daughter and friends each took ‘six shots’, watered down with Sprite, before falling ill and having ‘difficulty breathing’.
She told The Sun how Simone and two friends took themselves to hospital the day after but were ‘discharged’ by medics, who told them they had food poisoning.
By the time an ambulance arrived to take them to a private facility, Simone was already “delirious,” her mother said, adding, “I think it had actually affected all of her brain.”
Global statistics show that there have been 58 cases of methanol poisoning in the last 12 months, affecting more than 1,200 people and killing more than 400.
Methanol is a colorless liquid that tastes like alcohol and is a byproduct of illegal liquor.
Consuming even a small amount can lead to blindness, multiple organ failure and death.