Seven tourists have been treated for suspected poisoning after consuming drinks at a luxury hotel in Fiji. A police investigation into the incident, which took place on Saturday, 14 December 2024, is now underway.
The group affected, whose ages range from 18 to 56, includes four Australians and three other foreign nationals. They had been drinking Piña Colada cocktails, according to The Telegraph, at the Warwick Fiji hotel, a five star resort on the Coral Coast, but started to experience nausea and “neurological symptoms”, Fiji’s Health Ministry said in a statement.
They were taken to Lautoka Hospital and five of the group had been discharged by Monday evening. Two however remained in intensive care but were in a stable condition, Deputy Prime Minister Viliame R. Gavoka said.
Was methanol to blame?
Authorities investigating what happened will no doubt be considering the possibility of methanol poisoning, following another recent bout of poisonings in Laos which resulted in the deaths of six people. Methanol, a compound that is highly toxic to humans, can form as a result of unsafe distilling practices. Ingesting even tiny amounts can have catastrophic consequences for human health, including blindness as a result of damage to the optic nerve, as well as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, unconsciousness, coma and death.
Occurring most frequently in developing nations where home distilling is popular, methanol poisoning can be avoided by never accepting drinks of unknown origin, keeping drinks covered and within sight at all times, and always checking labels on bottles for signs of forgery, such as spelling mistakes or fake logos.
However, Dr. Jemesa Tudravu, permanent secretary for Fiji’s Ministry of Health and Medical Services, refused to speculate on the cause of so many tourists being taken ill and told press it was impossible to know what had caused the most recent hospitalisations without further probing. “We don’t have the results of the investigation yet and we don’t know if it was spiking or any other cause until we complete our investigations,” he said in a briefing on Monday.
Unprecedented in 40 years of operations
The Warwick Fiji, part of The Warwick Hotels and Resorts group with operations in Europe, the Middle East, and the US, as well as in the Pacific, said in a release on Tuesday that its guests safety is something it treats “very seriously” and that the health scare was “an unprecedented event” in the hotel’s four decades of trade.
“We are currently working jointly with the authorities to determine what caused this unfortunate incident. We are committed to ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone who visits our resort,” the hotel said.
