Two sisters from the Channel Islands were among a group of tourists suspected to have consumed alcohol tainted with methanol in Laos.

Six people are known to have died and six British nationals are currently in hospital, after apparently falling ill after drinking contaminated drinks in the resort of Vang Vieng.

Megan and Grace Mather from Jersey were travelling through Southeast Asia with their mum Tracey before she went home and left her daughters to make their way to the Laos. 

Megan, Grace and Tracey on their travels

Tracey says 28 year old Megan and Grace (25) were among a group that were offered free drinks at their hostel.

A number of people were later taken to hospital, including British lawyer 28 year old Simone White from Kent, one of six to have since died.

The UK Foreign Office confirmed her passing in a statement on Thursday (21 November)  Earlier that same day, the family of 19 year old Australian woman Bianca Jones (19), said she had died in hospital in Thailand.

On Friday morning, the family of Bianca' s friend Holly Bowles, also 19 and from Australia, said she had become the latest victim, passing away at a hospital in Bangkok where she had been on life support.

An American citizen and two Danish women have also died.

Tracey says her daughters were offered a couple of vodka and lemonades and tells us it was after taking them that they and their new friends began to feel unwell.

"It was abdominal pains. They all felt physically really ill in a way where you don't know what's wrong with you. They knew it wasn't a hangover because they didn't have enough (alcohol) to have a hangover.

"It was a weird thing all over their body, and really bad abdominal pains, stomach pains.

"Everyone in the whole place got sick. These Irish boys they were friends with were in bed for two days, they got very sick.

"My girls got very sick. I thank god they didn't drink anything the next night.

"Then everyone dispersed, because everyone is travelling and moving around.

"My girls arrived in Thailand and went to a hospital in Bangkok, which did not test them. I don't know if they really believed them because nothing was coming out about it in the news at that time.

"But they still weren't feeling good. Thankfully, today they are feeling a lot better."

 "My heart goes out to the families of the girls who weren't so lucky."

Megan, Grace and Tracey

Tracey tells us that two friends of her daughters are being treated in Thailand in separate hospitals. 

It's reported at least 14 tourists in total have been hospitalised since the incident. 

Tracey says Megan and Grace have been shocked to find out what's happened to their new friends: 

"As soon as they knew people had been taken to hospital and people were ill, they were really upset and were in contact with the group: the Irish lads, and they would have been in contact with Bianca but she couldn't reply.

"My girls are very scared. They're upset, they're thinking about coming home. They've only got three weeks (left) and then they're back anyway, but we'll see how they feel."