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Agence France-Presse

Seven foreigners including four Australians and an American have been hospitalised after drinking cocktails at a five-star Fiji hotel resort, health officials said on Sunday.
The hotel guests were taken to hospital on Saturday night suffering “nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms”, Fiji’s health ministry said in a statement.
They fell ill after drinking a cocktail prepared at a bar in the luxury Warwick Fiji resort on the Coral Coast, about 60km (40 miles) west of the capital Suva, it said.
The ministry said the guests, aged from 18 to 56, included four Australians, one American and two foreigners who live in Fiji, whose nationalities were not given.
“We are reassured that their condition this morning was stable, and we do hope their condition continues to improve,” Fiji’s health and tourism ministries said in a joint statement on Monday.
Close to a million tourists visit Fiji each year, it said, stressing that tourism in the country is “typically very safe”.
“This is the only reported case of its kind that we’ve experienced in recent memory, and certainly nothing like this has been experienced this year.”


Officials said the patients had been transferred from a hospital near the hotel to the larger Lautoka Hospital on the island’s west coast. An official at Lautoka Hospital declined to comment.
Australia’s foreign ministry said it was providing consular assistance to two families but declined further comment citing “privacy obligations”.
The Warwick Fiji hotel said in a statement that it was conducting an investigation and waiting for test results from the health authorities.
“At this moment, we do not have conclusive details, but we are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of our guests,” it said.
In a separate incident in Laos last month, two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died of suspected methanol poisoning following what local media said was a night out in the town of Vang Vieng.


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7 foreigners hospitalised after drinking cocktails at 5-star Fiji resort

Seven foreigners were hospitalised after drinking cocktails at a five-star hotel in Fiji, health officials said on Sunday. Photo: Shutterstock

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Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones 

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Foreign tourists relax at a swimming pool at Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng. Photo: AP

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Holly Bowles, 19, from Australia, died hours after her friend Bianca Jones, following a night out in Laos. Two Danes, an American and a Briton have also died. Photo: Facebook/@HollyBowles

Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Her best friend, Holly Bowles, also died. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones

Health officials check documents and ask questions on Friday at a hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, after the deaths of six people, thought to have been caused by methanol poisoning. Photo: AP

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News

Asia

Australasia

Guests at the luxury Warwick Fiji resort suffered ‘nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms’, Fiji’s health ministry said


Guests at the luxury Warwick Fiji resort suffered ‘nausea, vomiting and neurological symptoms’, Fiji’s health ministry said.


Tourism

Laos

Australia