Last week, six tourists died from methanol poisoning, which had been mixed with their drinks during an evening. This alcohol, which can be used in industry, can cause blindness, irreversible damage, or even death.
A deadly mixture. On November 22, Laos government officials announced the death of six tourists from adulterated alcohol poisoning. The young adults had ended up in Vang Vieng, a town popular with backpackers and ecotourists. In total, a group of around a dozen vacationers were poisoned.
According to the first elements of the investigation, the victims were poisoned with methanol. In Asia, authorities are warning foreign nationals of the risks of methanol poisoning, which is used to cut other alcohols to reduce their cost.
For example, 21 young people lost their lives in South Africa in July 2022, while a massive poisoning killed more than 50 people in India last June.
Used to make windshield washer fluid or gasoline
Also called methyl alcohol, methanol is today used as a synthetic raw material for other products. According to the Société Chimique de France, “around 40% of methanol is converted into formaldehyde, to be transformed into products as diverse as plastics, resins, paints, explosives, etc.”
Since the 1990s, it can be used in gasoline, particularly to produce biodiesel. It is also used to create antifreeze or windshield washer fluid, or even photocopier fluid.
However, methanol is highly toxic if ingested by humans. “It can cause death due to its central nervous system depressant properties, similar to ethanol. It becomes toxic after being metabolized in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase which transforms it into formaldehyde, which is then metabolized into formic acid. These two compounds are at the origin of metabolic acidosis, blindness by destruction of the optic nerve…”, maintains the same source.
In Laos, the investigation continues “to determine the causes of the incident and bring the perpetrators to justice,” said the Laotian government.
