Just a few weeks ago, new footage reveals Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones were two teens dancing in their bedroom for TikTok, about to set off on the adventure of a lifetime.
The two Melbourne teens charted their dream getaway across Asia, drinking in packed bars, swimming at tropical beaches and living their best life on a gap year.
But one night in a busy bar in Laos has left them in hospital, fighting for life after their drinks were spiked with jungle hooch methanol.
The best friends, both aged 19, are now on life support in separate hospitals with suspected methanol poisoning. Their parents are at their bedsides in Bangkok and Udon Thani.
Authorities suspect they drank poisoned cocktails while holidaying in the party town of Vang Vieng, Laos.
Staff at the Nana Backpackers Hostel became concerned when Holly and Bianca failed to leave their room for almost a full day.
They spent the day sleeping before they eventually asked the receptionist to take them to hospital.
They were transported one by one by a hostel worker on his motorbike before both were transferred to separate hospitals in neighbouring Thailand after their conditions rapidly deteriorated.
In a September video, the best friends were dancing happily together
The video that Bowles posted showed the pair riding mopeds and having a rollicking time
The party town of Vang Vieng, Laos, is known for its nightlife
Heartbreaking CCTV from inside the hostel showed one of the girls being taken to hospital.
But three weeks before they fell sick, the teens were having a rollicking time on their trip.
Bowles posted a video to TikTok with the caption, ‘forever grateful for this place and the people,’ followed by the Thailand flag emoji.
The video showed the friends surveying jungle views, singing karaoke, riding jetskis and generally having a great time.
Another video posted in September showed the pair dancing happily together. ‘Back and better than ever,’ said the caption as the boogyed to Michael Jackson.
The girls had embarked on their travels to celebrate having recently graduated from Mentone Girls’ Grammar and Beaumaris Secondary College in 2023.
It’s understood they’d planned to return home in time for Christmas.
Holly’s dad Shaun Bowles spoke to media in Bangkok on Wednesday, saying his daughter remained in a critical condition.
‘She’s on life support,’ he told 7 NEWS.
The pair’s football club in Melbourne said the news was ‘tragic and distressing’
‘We’d just like to thank everyone from back home for all the support and love that we’re receiving but we’d also like for people to appreciate right now we just need privacy so we can spend as much time as we can with Holly.’
At home, the friends were both players for the Beaumaris Football Club, which said on Wednesday that their situation was ‘tragic and distressing.’
‘By their deeds and involvement in the girls’ and women’s football programs, both Holly and Bianca have become cherished and highly respected members of the Beaumaris Sharks family,’ the club said.
‘We acknowledge Holly and Bianca’s teammates and friends at the club are struggling to come to terms with what has occurred.’
Meanwhile the Laotian bartender who served drinks to Bowles and Jones claimed it wasn’t him who poisoned the girls.
Hostel manager Duong Duc Toan, who served the girls the Tiger Vodka, said it wasn’t his drink that made them sick.
Toan said he bought the alcohol from a certified distributor and insisted it had not been tainted by himself or his staff.
He said the shots, a gesture of hospitality, were served to around 100 guests and that the hostel had not received any other complaints.
The girls were staying at the Nana Backpackers Hostel in Laos when they fell ill
To prove his point, the bartender drank from one of the vodka bottles that were in use on the night to prove it was safe.
Toan said Holly and Bianca were at the bar playing cards from 8pm to 10.30pm and had three drinks each in that time.
He poured them a Lao Pdr Tiger Vodka containing 40 per cent alcohol and mixed it with ice and Coke Zero.
Local media reports two other women aged in their 20s have died, along with a 56-year-old American man, and 10 others have fallen ill in the suspected mass poisoning.
Holly and Bianca’s ordeal is part of a suspected mass poisoning. In total, fourteen people are thought to have fallen ill from the laced drinks – and two, believed to be Swedish nationals, have died.
Laos police have launched an investigation.