A British woman has died after suffering a sudden, unexplained illness while staying at a lodge in Colombo, Sri Lanka, prompting authorities to open an investigation into her death.
The unnamed woman, 24, died on Saturday after being admitted to Colombo General, Sri Lanka’s national hospital, due to severe vomiting.
A pair of German nationals were also experiencing the same symptoms and were admitted to hospital alongside the Briton, but have reportedly responded to treatment.
Police are now conducting an investigation at a lodge in the waterfront Kollupitiya area of Colombo where all three victims were staying when they fell ill, sealing off their rooms for inspection, Sri Lanka’s Daily News reported.
Officials from Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Health and a judicial medical officer are also participating in the investigation.
Police Media Spokesman, Senior Superintendent of Police Buddhika Manathunga, confirmed the deceased was a 24-year-old British national but gave no further details.
The mystery incident comes weeks after a group of tourists died in Laos after drinking shots laced with methanol.
British woman Simone White, 28, and Australian Bianca Jones, 19, died in the horrific incident in November alongside two Danish women – Anne-Sofie Orklid Coyman, 20, and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21 – and a 56-year-old American man.
The unnamed woman, 24, died on Saturday after being admitted to the Colombo General Hospital, Sri Lanka’s national hospital, due to severe vomiting
At the opening of an inquest into Ms. White’s death last month, a court heard she died of methanol toxicity leading to an intercranial haemorrhage.
Police in Laos are still investigating the incident, which killed five people who consumed shots at the Nana Backpackers’ Hostel.
Hostel manager and bartender Duong Duc Toan, who served the shots, denied it was his Tiger Vodka that had made the tourists sick.
He was later arrested alongside seven other members of staff by police.
Ms White’s mother Sue, 61, told how she made the heartbreaking decision to take her daughter off life support after her condition worsened.
She said: ‘Simone was such a popular, fun-loving girl, who was hugely well thought of.
‘What’s happened is absolutely tragic, she had everything going for her.’
Simone White, 28, died in Laos on November 21 after drinking methanol-laced shots
Methanol is sometimes found in alcoholic drinks in southeast Asia as a cheaper, counterfeit alternative to ethanol.
The Foreign Office has issued guidance to Britons travelling to the country, warning them against consuming replica alcohol brands that may contain hidden amounts of methanol.
In an update provided to the coroner, the FCDO said: ‘The ambassador and consular team recently met with the director general of the Consulate Department of Registry Foreign Affairs.
‘They confirm the investigation is ongoing and complex.
‘Our ambassador requested the British embassy in Vientiane is updated as soon as any information is available recognising the inquiry will take time and a report will not be issued until conclusion of the Laos police investigation.’
