‘Don’t let it be your best friend’

The best friend of a woman who died of methanol venom on vacation has asked the government to make adolescents in schools about the dangers of drinking alcohol abroad.

Bethany Clarke was traveling in Laos in Southeast Asia with the childhood friend Simone White when they drink free shots, they were sacrificed in a shelter in November.

The next day, they felt badly and initially thought they had food poisoning. But, a few days later, Simone, 28, died at the hospital.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Education have been contacted for a comment on Bethany’s request.

Simone, who was from Orpington in southeastern London, and Bethany planned to stay in Cambodia for just under two weeks, and spend four days in Laos.

They got sick after drinking six vodka shots that served them in the Nana Backpackers hostel at the Verspot Vieng Vieng traveler.

Five other tourists also died after drinking in the shelter.

It is believed that their drinks contained methanol, a deadly substance of alcohol that is in smuggling.

Medical specialists say that drinking as little as 25 ml or methanol can be fatal, but sometimes it is added to drinks because it is cheaper than alcohol.

But Bethany, 28, tells BBC Newsbeat that they didn’t realize that something was wrong until the next day.

“All this happened on the fourth day of the trip. We did the tube that day and that was good,” she says.

“It is broadcast to obviously describe the timeline. I think that when I realized that everything was wrong, it was when we were in the kayaks for a trip, we went the next morning. So approximately 12 hours.

“I guess it was when Simone and I were plans on the back of these kayaks, not Bee capable of using our arms. We were literally looking at space.

“That was a time when I thought I really don’t understand what is happening to us. It seemed that I just had to accept my destiny.”

Bethany says that just when they tried to get help, they had a time to be treated for methanol poisoning and had to look for information about him.

“The doctors continued to say that it was food poisoning, which obviously did not help try to try what was happening,” she says.

“This is when our other friends said ‘we arrive at a private hospital.’ In the ambulance on the road there, our friend mentioned the paramedic ‘could it be poisoning by methanol?’ He had investigated a little on his phone.

“They rushed to Simone to have dialysis immediately and told me.” “

“And yes, they did everything possible.”

Bethany says that the group trusted the shelter because the reviews were good, but now it urges others to be careful.

“We don’t think we were doing something stupid, but obviously I feel that I should have known more.

“The advice belongs to me ‘direct, drink bear’. Look for symptoms, keep in mind where he is drinking.

“You just don’t let it be your best friend who dies of methanol poisoning.”

He has also established a petition that asks that the dangers of the methanol poison are in the school curriculum.

He says that “children should be taught the dangers of consuming contraband alcohol as part of the PSHE and/or biology curriculum in school.”

“I think it only needs to be a five -minute talk, or also possible to a child of the public health announcement, only giving the case study of Laos and saying that this can happen,” he says.

“If people because they will risk and drink it, at least they have been educated in the legs, and then I could detect some of the symptoms if they drink it.”

Bethany is currently working in Australia and since then has been completely recovered.

She says Simone was “so full of life, energetic, sports, musical: there are 100 adjectives that I could find.”

“She was the best friend that anyone could expect.

“If you ever had a problem, she would always be trying to help you with that and she was such a good listener.”

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