Two Canadians Die On Phi Phi

[The_Munchmaster]

After October this year a special license to serve puffer fish in Tokyo will no longer be required bringing it into line with the rest of the country.

[Boo Radley]

I was reading that they'd checked in to the hotel on the 12th and been out at a beer bar that evening. They retired to their shared room and that was the last they were seen alive.

One theory I saw posted was that the big pitchers of alcohol mixes popular in the local bars there may have contained locally produced hooch which can sometimes contain toxic methanol if fermented and distilled incorrectly.

Another theory I saw on a Thai message board was that magic mushroom omelettes are popular with tourists to the island and maybe inadvertently some poisonous mushrooms got in there.

For them to not to call for help, the poison must have been fast acting or if the illegal substance angle is true, maybe there was some initial reluctance and delay to call for help.

The other theory comes from an online review posted on 06/06/12 by some Singaporean tourists who stayed at the hotel and complained of bedbugs. Maybe overzealous use of insecticide played some role in the tragedy.

Anyhow, just speculation on my part.

RIP.

[Coss]

Given the state of your average Thai's knowledge about poison, chemicals and such, it surprises me that there are not more deaths similar to this.

[Flashermac]

Maybe there are, but since they aren't foreigners it doesn't make the international news.

[Mekong]

Maybe there are, but since they aren't foreigners it doesn't make the international news.

 

International News

[ThaiHome]

From my limited knowledge and what I have read, it sure sounds like some sort of chemical poisoning.

 

It could be from an incorrectly prepared puffer fish. I read that poorly or incorrectly process cassava chips can contain dangerous levels of cyanide. Though that sounds unlikely as you would think that several people would have gotten sick and/or died.

 

Personally, I think the most likely reason is a reaction to a pesticide used in the room at way too high level. You do have to wonder if that is the case, how the girls were able to stay in the room for long enough to get that sick with the smell. Every pesticide I have been exposed smelled very strong and you would think they would have complained about that. Unless they were too drunk to notice and just passed out until they got sick and then were too weak to get out or seek help.

The Thai authorities will undoubtedly try to minimize this as much as possible, just authorities in virtually every tourist place all over the world does.

 

It is a very tragic story. Dying in an accident like this appears to be has to be the sadest things.

TH

[khunsanuk]

Hi,

 

"Personally, I think the most likely reason is a reaction to a pesticide used in the room at way too high level."

 

You'd think they'd be more careful with this stuff as if I remember correctly this was the cause of death for several people a while back in Chiang Mai as well, right?

 

Sanuk!

[Flashermac]

Food poisoning likely cause of sisters' death

 

 

BANGKOK - Police on Monday promised a swift investigation into the death of two Canadian sisters found in their hotel room on a popular Phi Phi resort island.

 

The bodies of Audrey and Noemi Belanger, aged 20 and 26, from Quebec province, were found Friday by hotel staff on Phi Phi island, in Phuket province, in the Andaman Sea, showing signs of having suffered an extreme toxic reaction.

 

According to The Phuket News online edition, a physician who performed a preliminary examination, Dr Komkrit Phukrityakame said he believed the two were victims of food poisoning.

"The source could have been a meal which included blowfish or poisonous mushrooms," Krabi Hospital director Kromkit said.

 

Police said on Sunday that "serious food poisoning" might have been to blame, but the authorities stressed then that it was too early to pinpoint the cause of the deaths.

 

"We will send all evidence to Bangkok's forensic department this afternoon and ask them to process it quickly to establish what killed them," said Krabi province police chief Jamroon Reunrom.

 

"As well as the police forensic team, a team from the health ministry's department of disease control also came to help, but we could not say right now what is the cause of the deaths," he added.

 

"I prefer to wait for formal results from the police forensic team in Bangkok."

 

Officials said they found vomit in the room and there was haemorrhaging of the sisters' lips and gums. Their fingernails and toenails had turned blue.

 

They said there was no indication of a violent struggle inside the room at the Palm Residence Hotel. The hotel manager declined to speak to AFP.

 

Phi Phi island is one of Thailand's top tourist destinations, made famous by the 2000 film The Beach starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

 

Thailand, which has cultivated an image as the "Land of Smiles", is a tourist magnet, but visitor deaths are not uncommon.

 

Two tourists, a Norwegian and an American, fell ill and died on Phi Phi in 2009 but the exact cause has not been established.

 

Uncertainly also remains over six deaths -- including four in a single hotel -- in northern Chiang Mai last year. Authorities said poisoning by pesticides or other chemicals was the likely cause of most of those fatalities.

 

My link

[Flashermac]

Two men 'partied with sisters'

 

 

Police are looking for two Portuguese men last seen with the two holidaying Canadian sisters who died under mysterious circumstances at a hotel on Koh Phi Phi off Krabi province last week.

 

The men are believed to hold clues about the women's deaths.

 

Investigators on Thursday checked CCTV footage from cameras at Phi Phi Palms Residence Hotel.

 

The footage, recorded between 1.10am and 1.14am on June 13, captured a male foreigner escorting the sisters back to their hotel room. A source close to the police investigation said the man was identified as Luciano Tinto, a 30-year-old Portuguese.

 

The man and his friend of the same nationality stayed at the same hotel as the sisters, the source said. The friend was not identified.

 

The source said before they were found dead, the two sisters were spotted with the two men at night entertainment venues on Phi Phi island.

 

Noemi Belanger, 26, and Audrey Belanger, 20, checked into the hotel in tambon Ao Nang of Muang district on June 13 and were found dead in their room on June 15. The source said the two Portuguese men checked out of the hotel and headed to Phuket on the same day the two Canadians died.

 

Meanwhile, relatives of the sisters arrived Thursday at Ramathibodi Hospital to collect their bodies for burial.

 

Wicharn Priewnim, head of the forensic medicine unit of the hospital, said toxicology results are expected to be known in one to two weeks.

 

Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday the Canadian embassy has asked the ministry to coordinate efforts between the two countries to investigate the deaths.

 

Mr Surapong said the embassy also asked for tissue samples from the bodies to conduct lab tests. The ministry has referred the request to relevant officials.

 

My link

[Coss]

Portuguese Poisoners?