Tourists left unconscious from a night of heavy drinking had to be wheeled back to their hotels in trolleys by police in Thailand despite recent warnings following the deadly poisonings that claimed six lives in neighbouring Laos.
Authorities stepped in to help a German and Australian tourist back to their rooms after concerned partygoers failed to rouse them at bars on the party island of Koh Phi Phi in Krabi, Thailand, on November 29.
Sergeant Major Saneh Jualaong stepped in to stop anybody taking advantage of the girls, aged 19 and 23, borrowing a pushcart from a shop on the pier and wheeling the pair back to their accommodation.
Footage shows the duo on the trolley, slumped over as they were wheeled back to their hostel. The attentive official cautiously manoeuvred the two-wheeler cart to prevent them from falling out of place.
Their friends later helped to carry them to their rooms and hauled them onto their bunk beds, with the kind officer placing a blanket over one of them.
The officer then informed the lobby staff of the guest’s return. The hotel owner thanked him for ensuring the safety of the tourists.
It comes after six people died after taking shots allegedly spiked with methanol at a popular hostel in the backpacking town of Vang Vieng in Laos last month.
Authorities are still investigating the deaths of British victim Simone White and five other backpackers after their drinks were allegedly laced at the Nana backpackers hotel, sparking concern for the safety of foreign travellers in southeast Asia.
The tourists had to be taken back to their hotel rooms in a trolley after getting too drunk
A police sergeant helped the young women back to their accommodation and told staff
Officials said this was not the first time they had been forced to step in and help drunk tourists
Sergeant Major Saneh Jualaong said after helping the women in Thailand back home: ‘I know what it’s like to have a daughter and how much we worry about them. I thought about their parents back at home.
‘They were both too drunk to speak and too drunk to stand up. In that condition, they could have an accident, such as falling into the sea or falling down steps.
‘I made sure they returned safely to their beds.’
Police Colonel Surasak Jaidee, superintendent of Koh Phi Phi Police Station, added: ‘As for why he used a trolley, it was because all routes on Koh Phi Phi are for walking, so we could not use a car.
‘The motorcycle was also unable to transport the unconscious passengers, so he had to use the trolley.
‘This was not the first time police have assisted drunk tourists. They have been doing this for over two years.
‘We understand that they come to the island to have fun. We don’t want to punish them. It is better that we are there to help and protect them.’
Last year, police officials from Patong Police Station implemented a similar safety measure, offering assistance to inebriated tourists by ensuring they were safely transported to their accommodations.
This initiative has been credited with helping to prevent accidents and other alcohol-related incidents in the region.
The Ministry of Public Health previously suggested that nightspots wanting to extend their operating hours should implement breathalyzer tests for patrons before they leave and arrange transport services, if necessary, as part of efforts to enhance tourist safety.
Southeast Asia attracts millions of tourists each year to enjoy the culture, history and nightlife.
But concern mounts about the safety of foreign visitors after the reported deaths of six backpackers from drinks tainted with methanol alcohol in Laos last month.
The victims included a British woman, an Australian teenager, an American, and two Danes.
Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones, both 19, had been on life support but succumbed on November 21.
Nana backpackers hotel manager Duong Duc Toan and bartender Toan Van Vanng denied diluting their alcohol with methanol when questioned.
Toan was later detained but no charges have been reported. The government of Laos vowed to ‘bring the perpetrators to justice’ in its first public remarks on the international incident.
Toan said he bought the alcohol from a certified distributor and that free shots of Tiger Vodka had been served to around 100 guests.
He said he had yet to received any complaints from other backpackers who been given shots on the night.
He also drank from one of the vodka bottles that were in use on the night to prove it was safe.
Simone White, 28, died in hospital after drinking alcohol suspected to have been laced with methanol in the backpacking hotspot Vang Vien in Laos just last month
Bianca Jones, 19, has become the fourth person to die after consuming alleged ‘methanol-laced’ drinks in Vang Vieng, Laos
Simone White was a lawyer with global law firm Squire Patton Boggs in London
The Nana’s Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos
Hostel manager and bartender Duong Duc Toan (pictured) has reportedly been detained
Sue White, mother to 28-year-old Simone, shared how her ‘kind, fun-loving’ daughter and friends took ‘six shots’ each, watered down with Sprite, before falling ill and having ‘trouble breathing’.
She told The Sun how Simone and two friends took themselves to hospital the day after, but were ‘dismissed’ by medics, who told them they had food poisoning.
By the time an ambulance arrived to take them on to a private facility, Simone was already ‘delirious’, her mother said, adding ‘I think, basically, it had already affected her brain’.
Global statistics reveal 58 incidents of methanol poisoning in the past 12 months, affecting more than 1,200 people and resulting in over 400 deaths.
Methanol is a colourless liquid that tastes similar to alcohol and is a byproduct of bootlegged liquor.
Consuming even a small amount can lead to blindness, multiple organ failure and death.
