Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of a number of people taken to hospital after the incident in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng last week

The Laos government said on Saturday (Nov 23) that it was "profoundly saddened" by the deaths of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, with the toll from a suspected methanol poisoning incident now at six.

An American man was among at least six tourists who were killed in a mass alcohol poisoning case in a popular tourist town in Laos.

The victims were an American, two Danes, two Australians, and a Brit. Australia's prime minister called the ordeal "every parent's very worst fear."

The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

Tourists from the U.S., Australia, Denmark and the U.K. have died. A tourism police officer said a "number of people" had been detained in the case but that no charges have yet been filed.

A fifth tourist has died in a widening tragedy linked to suspected methanol poisonings in Laos, as a growing list of countries warned of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking tainted alcohol in the Southeast Asian country.

A British tourist has died in Laos, the fifth to have died as a growing list of countries warned of poisonings linked to a<a class="excerpt-read-more" href=" More