Emotional scenes as Aussie mum and daughter who drank poisonous cocktails at five star resort in Fiji return home
EXCLUSIVE
An Australian mother and daughter, poisoned by cocktails while on holiday in Fiji, hugged and kissed relatives as they returned home on Monday evening.
Tanya Sandoe, 56, and her 19-year-old daughter Georgia Sandoe-Simpson looked happy to be back on home soil as they wheeled their own luggage out of Sydney Airport shortly after 7pm on Monday evening.
The pair from Sydney’s northern coast were among seven guests rushed to hospital on Saturday after drinking in Warwick Fiji on the holiday island’s Coral Coast.
Two other Aussies were also hospitalized.
The mother and daughter beamed as they were reunited with Ms Sandoe’s parents, David and Pamela, and another male relative at a side exit, escorted by Australian Federal Police officers and out of view of most waiting media.
Mrs Sandoe-Simpson was the first to hug and kiss her grandfather before he turned his attention to his daughter.
The holidaymakers had both been drinking cocktails by the pool at the five-star Warwick resort in Fiji when they became seriously ill on Saturday evening.
Georgia had a seizure after drinking the cocktail and was the sickest of the couple.
The pair were rushed to nearby Sigatoka Hospital with symptoms including nausea and vomiting and were released on Monday.
Tanya Sandoe, 56, and her 19-year-old daughter Georgia Sandoe-Simpson are back on home soil after their Fiji holiday turned into a nightmare
The Sydney mother received a warm welcome home from her father Tony
Mr Sandoe told Daily Mail Australia his daughter and granddaughter had only been released from hospital a few hours earlier and were allowed to return home on the condition they flew business class.
“I’m not even sure they can walk out,” he said before their flight landed.
“We just want to get them home.”
The family left in a Toyota LandCruiser, with Ms Sandoe and her daughter likely requiring further medical treatment.
The pair were fpr. a. traveled to Fiji
‘We are very grateful that they seem to be doing well. It’s such a relief,” her mother Pamela told Daily Mail Australia earlier on Monday.
“As far as we know, they are recovering as well as we could expect, and we will pick them up this afternoon.” We will take care of them here.”
All remaining guests had improved to stable condition as of Monday.
It comes as experts issued a dire warning to Australian tourists that their drinks could become spiked wherever they stay.
The incident in Fiji comes weeks after six tourists, including two Australians, were killed last month after drinking methanol-laced drinks at a two-star hostel in Laos.
While Fijian authorities have yet to determine whether the latest incident is due to methanol poisoning, the country has again urged Australians to exercise caution when drinking abroad.
Tanya Sandoe, 56, and her 19-year-old daughter Georgia Sandoe-Simpson left the terminal via a side exit, escorted by Australian Federal Police officers
Georgia Sandoe-Simpson was reunited with loved ones, including grandfather Tony
Tanya Sandoe was reunited with her parents and another family member (photo)
Tony and Pamela Sandoe (pictured) told Daily Mail Australia they were keen to get their daughter and granddaughter home
Dean Long, CEO of the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA), told Daily Mail Australia that methanol poisonings are rare but can happen anywhere in the world.
‘These events do indeed happen. They happen in Australia, they happen all over the world so they are not destination specific,” he said.
More than 400,000 Aussies traveled to Fiji last year – a holiday hotspot considered a ‘safe destination’ for tourists.
“In this situation, these people did everything right,” Mr. Long said.
‘They had a drink at a beautiful location. You would expect this to be the safest place you could be.”
Mr Long said individuals could replace methanol with alcohol because it was cheaper or because they wanted to “cause harm”.
He added that those responsible “must be locked up” and had full confidence in the Fijian government to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Georgia Sandoe-Simpson, 19, smiled as she returned home from Fiji with her mother, two nights after a seizure
Georgia Sandoe-Simpson, 19, (pictured) suffered a seizure as a result of the suspected poisoning
Georgia’s mother Tanya (left) was also hospitalized but the couple are now flying home after being cleared to travel on Monday
“We know the Fijian government is going to throw the book at these people and lock them up because the tourism industry is so important to that community,” Mr Long said.
Earlier this month, police arrested the owner of the factory identified as the suspected source of methanol poisoning in Laos.
The factory is located outside the capital Vientiane and is said to have made the local Tiger Vodka and Tiger Whiskey.
The recent round of arrests now means that twelve people have been arrested for their alleged connection with the toxic alcohol.
Six people, four of them Aussies, were hospitalized on Saturday evening after drinking cocktails at the pool at the Warwick Fiji resort (pictured) in the south of Fiji’s main island
Mr Long urged Aussies to follow safe drinking practices no matter where they are abroad and how good the quality of the location is.
His tips include “keeping an eye out when it’s being made” to make sure the bottles aren’t contaminated, or asking for a fresh bottle of spirits.
“But pre-mixed drinks sealed in a secure container are likely to be preferred when traveling,” Mr Long said.
“If you want some spirits, maybe buy them in Australia and take them abroad and consume them safely there, then drink those pre-mixed, secure drinks when you go into town.”
Mr Long said a number of Australians have also started traveling with kits capable of testing whether methanol remains safe.