The U.S., Australia and U.K. have issued warnings for travelers in Vang Vieng after several tourists died in a suspected methanol poisoning outbreak.

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

Holly Bowles, 19, is one of six tourists who have died in Laos from what is believed to be methanol poisoning. She passed away on Friday, the day after her 19-year-old friend Bianca Jones passed away in a Thai hospital.

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.

Simone White was enjoying a holiday with friends in Laos last week when she accepted a free shot from a bar. The 28-year-old British lawyer has now been named as the fifth person to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in the backpacking town of Vang Vieng.

ITV News' Asia Correspondent Debi Edward has been to Vang Vieng, Laos, where local bars have reassured visitors and authorities investigate deaths. | ITV National News

The government of Laos breaks its silence over the deaths of six tourists from methanol poisoning, saying it is "profoundly saddened".

An Australian teenager has become the sixth foreign tourist to die in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos, as a growing list of countries warned of the potentially fatal consequences of drinking tainted alcohol in the Southeast Asian country.

At least six tourists who traveled to Laos have died in recent days, prompting international alarm about the dangers of consuming alcoholic drinks that contain methanol.

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.