Seven tourists have been rushed to hospital in Fiji after drinking cocktails in a hotel bar.
The group, which is believed to included Australians and Americans, were rushed to hospital after suffering nausea, vomiting and headaches.
The cause of incident is yet to be confirmed, but local media have reported that the group are suffering from alcohol poisoning, a case that has grim echoes of the events in Laos in November which claimed the lives of six tourists after including British backpacker Simone White.
The group were staying at the five-star Warwick resort near Sigatoka when they fell ill on Saturday, according to Jemesa Tudravu, a spokesperson for the Fiji Health Ministry, who also confirmed that authorities are waiting for the results of toxicology tests.
A 56-year-old Australian woman was under constant surveillance in hospital and a 19-year-old woman, also from Australia, had suffered “serious medical episodes”, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
On Monday, Australian media reported that two Australians, a mother and daughter, have been cleared to return home.
On Monday, Australian media reported that two Australians, a mother and daughter, have been cleared to return home.
David Sandoe’s daughter and granddaughter, from Australia, are among those in hospital. He told Sky News Australia: “When you receive a phone call at 11 o’clock the other night and your daughter says that her daughter and herself have been poisoned and they were in hospital it’s quite something.
“It is a horrific experience and, of course, like everyone else when this news broke we all thought back to what recently happened in Asia, which sends shivers down your spine.”
Authorities stress that there have been no other cases reported and that the hotel is co-operating with the investigation.
A statement by the Fiji government said: “This is an extremely isolated incident, affecting only these seven guests at a specific bar within the resort.
“While we understand the concern, we want to emphasise that the tourism experience in Fiji is typically very safe, and we have acted immediately to try and discover the cause of what made these guests, at this resort, fall ill.”
Mereisi Makutu, the front office manager at the resort, told Fiji’s state broadcaster it was investigating the incident.
She said: “Our main priority at the moment is to look after those guests that are in hospital at the moment.”
The Australian government has updated its travel advice for Fiji to flag dangers of drink spiking and warned Australians more generally about the risk of alcohol poisoning when travelling.
Australia Treasurer Jim Chalmers told a news conference: “”If Australians are travelling, be very alert to the potential risks in this case around drink spiking and alcohol poisoning.”