SPECTACULAR limestone cliffs, lush forests and dark green water. The faces of new friends.
These are the last vivid images that Brit backpacker Calum Macdonald can remember before he went blind, in a sickening holiday disaster that claimed the lives of his fellow travellers.
Calum Macdonald went blind while on the trip of a lifetimeCredit: BBC
He later learned his new friend Freja Vennervald Sorensen was among those who had diedCredit: Instagram
The holiday paradise is known for its gorgeous scenery like the Blue LagoonCredit: Getty
The 24-year-old had met Danish women Freja Vennervald Sorensen and Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman while “tubing” – floating down the Nam Song river in Vang Vieng and stopping at bars in .
They went out drinking on Monday, November 11, last year, starting off at their hostel, Nana Backpackers , where it is suspected they were poisoned with methanol laced spirits which were .
A year on, he is speaking out as the Foreign Office warns Brits about eight new countries where the .
“I thought about those few days in the months after, because those were the last few days that I had any sight,” Calum tells The Sun.
He left Vang Vieng the next day and was “feeling fine”.
But on the 24-hour bus ride to Hanoi, , he was actually going blind.
Freja and Anne-Sofie were poisoned too, but didn’t make it. They died in a hospital in .
“I didn’t really notice anything significantly wrong until we got off the bus to cross the border,” Calum, from Surrey, says.
“My whole vision was just totally sort of engulfed in this really blinding white light.”
He thought it was just a passing moment.
“Perhaps it’s a bit silly, but my attitude was always like, I’ll sleep this off, I’ll be fine,” he says.
Arriving in Hanoi at night, he simply thought he was struggling to see because it was dark.
His group managed to get to their hotel room and then he realised something was wrong.
“My friends and I were sitting around in the room chatting. I said to them at one point, ‘Come on lads, like why are we sitting in the dark? Let’s switch the light on’. Because to me in the room it seemed dark.
“And they told me that actually the light was already on.”
Tragic news
Calum was staying at the Nana backpackers hostel where women died from the same drinksCredit: BBC
Brit Simone White died after drinking the methanol-laced alcohol at the hostelCredit: FACEBOOK/UNPIXS
Nana Backpackers remained open for a week after the first tourist was found deadCredit: AP
His friends helped get him to an international hospital, who insisted they check his medical insurance details before he was allowed treatment.
Those documents were on his mobile phone, which was difficult to access without his sight.
He stayed there for three weeks as doctors ran checks, hoping that it may have been something other than , which causes irreversible blindness.
Calum returned home to the UK and spent another two weeks in hospital, before being able to be reunited with his family from Sunbury on Thames, about an hour west of .
I certainly had more to drink, I imagine, than they did. So I don’t know why they were more severely affected than I was
Calum Macdonald
More tests were conducted, but ultimately, doctors declared that methanol had caused his blindness.
Meanwhile, Calum’s family protected him from the full horrors emerging in news reports. He only found out other people had died while staying in Laos six months later.
His friend started reading out articles on his phone, and then the names, including Freja and Anne-Sofie, Australians and , 19, , 28, and 57-year old American James Louis Hutson.
Calum was stunned, particularly when his friend read out the Danish girls’ names.
“We went out with them the night before. And then we also went out with them on that night that we think we were poisoned,” he says.
“They were also in the same room as us in the hostel. It was like this big shared kind of thing.”
“I certainly had more to drink, I imagine, than they did. So I don’t know why they were more severely affected than I was.”
Why is methanol so deadly?
By , Health Correspondent
Methanol is a super-toxic version of alcohol that may be present in drinks if added by crooks to make them stronger or if they are brewed or distilled badly.
The consequences can be devastating because as little as a single shot of contaminated booze could be deadly, with just 4ml of methanol potentially enough to cause blindness.
Prof Oliver Jones, a chemist at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, said: “The body converts methanol to formic acid.
“Formic acid blocks the action of an enzyme that is critical to how the body uses oxygen to generate energy.
“If it stops working, cells cannot take up or use oxygen from the blood and lack of oxygen causes problems in a range of organs as the cells start to die.
“Symptoms of methanol poisoning include vomiting, seizures and dizziness.
“The optic nerve seems to be particularly vulnerable to methanol toxicity, so there is the potential for temporary or permanent blindness, and even death.
“While thankfully rare, methanol poisoning is very serious, and treatment should be given at a hospital.”
Calum has visited this year and will be part of an educational video rolled out in across Britain, warning of the dangers of methanol poisoning.
“Once I did hear about (the deaths) it made me think maybe I do have a little bit of a responsibility here to speak a little bit about what happened because it might help other people, people might see it and it might mean that similar things don’t happen to them,” he says.
Now working in finance, he says he still hopes young people like him will travel – but with greater awareness about how to stay safe.
“I think it’s unrealistic to expect people not to drink at all because I just think that’s unrealistic,” he said.
“Certainly, stick to beer.”
Dane Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman was another tragic tourist who died from poisoningCredit: Facebook Signs of methanol poisoning
Spotting methanol poisoning can be tricky because at first, it can feel like regular alcohol poisoning.
But there are key differences to watch for:
- Early signs: You might feel confused, dizzy, extremely tired, or even start throwing up.
- Serious symptoms appear 12-48 hours after drinking, so be vigilant even the day after. Headaches, nausea, seizures, or even slipping into a coma are common symptoms. Basically, if you’re feeling very drunk, out of proportion to how much you’ve had to drink, get help ASAP.
- Vision issues can also appear 12-48 hours after the first drink. Methanol poisoning can cause blurry vision, trouble looking at bright lights, and even complete blindness. If you have “snowfield vision” (seeing snowy static like an old TV) or tunnel vision, that’s a red flag.
If you or anyone you’re with starts to show any of these signs, call or visit the local hospital immediately.
It could save your life or prevent serious complications
How to reduce the risk of methanol poisoning
Methanol has a faint smell and is tasteless, so it can be hard to know if your drink has been contaminated. So here are a few tips to keep you and your mates safe:
- Stick to licensed places. Only buy your drinks from proper bars, reputable hotels or licenced shops.
- Avoid homemade booze. Local spirits or homemade vodka might seem fun and adventurous, but they’re high-risk.
- Check your bottles. Seals should be intact, and labels should look legit (no misspellings or dodgy print).
- Be cautious about cocktails. Stick to sealed or bottled drinks. Pre-mixed cocktails and “buckets” (cheap mixed drinks served in plastic containers) in touristy areas can be a gamble.
Source: Travel Aware
