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Two of four Australians who were hospitalised after a suspected mass alcohol poisoning at a luxury resort in Fiji are returning home in a stable condition, authorities say.
The Australians fell ill after staying at Warwick Fiji, a spokesperson for the resort confirmed, but stressed that it did “not have conclusive details” yet.
“Please rest assured that we are taking this matter very seriously and are currently conducting a thorough investigation,” the spokesperson said.
“We do not have conclusive details but we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our guests.”
Fiji’s deputy prime minister and minister for tourism and civil aviation, Viliame Gavoka, said that all seven of the affected guests were in a stable condition.
“Our thoughts are with the affected guests and their families during this time, and we are ensuring that they receive the best medical care possible.
“We are reassured that their condition this morning was stable, and we do hope their condition continues to improve.”
He said the Fiji government were working with the resort.
“The resort management has assured us that they have not engaged in practices such as substituting ingredients or altering the quality of drinks served to guests,” Gavoka continued.
“The incident occurred at only one bar, and it involved seven tourists, ranging in age from young to older, who fell ill.
“The resort management shares our concerns and is fully cooperating with the ministry of health and other authorities to identify what happened and to ensure the safety of all future guests.”
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The father and grandfather of two of the Australians, David Sandoe, told Sky News his daughter Tanya and her daughter Georgia had been discharged from hospital and received confirmation they were medically fit to travel.
“Like everyone else when this news broke we all thought back to what recently happened in Asia which sends shivers down your spine, so we’re so grateful and very fortunate,” he said.
It was a horrific experience, he said, describing a late-night call from his daughter telling him she had been taken to hospital as “quite something else”.
Georgia, in her late teens, suffered a seizure after drinking a cocktail, he said.
She had a pre-existing condition that affected her immune system which was a major concern, Sandoe said, but the fear was quelled when he spoke to doctors in Fiji.
Gavoka said the incident was localised to one bar at one resort that was being thoroughly investigated and it was the only reported case in recent memory.
“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.”
Australia has revised its travel advice for Fiji, warning travellers to “be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks”.
It comes after two Australians died in Laos from a suspected mass ethanol poisoning.
With Australian Associated Press
