Methanol poisoning in Laos has claimed six international tourists' lives, including Australian teens Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, after they consumed tainted drinks while backpacking in Vang Vieng.

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.

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.

This week, an American man and two Danish women, aged 19 and 20, died in the same town due to methanol poisoning.

What is methanol, symptoms of methanol poisoning and how can tourists avoid it after Laos deaths? - Foreign Office advises tourists how to avoid alcohol that may be accidentally toxic or may be counte

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.

The death toll from a suspected adulterated alcohol mass poisoning in Laos rose to six Friday after an Australian teen backpacker died in a hospital in Thailand where she had been transferred for treatment.

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