It was every Australian family's worst nightmare.

Nineteen-year-old best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were on their dream holiday, backpacking through Southeast Asia on their gap year.

The Melbourne women were staying at the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos — a town popular among young tourists seeking adventure and party.

On Monday, November 11, the women enjoyed some free shots with the rest of their hostel, before reportedly heading out to Jaidee bar, for a night out.

Watch: Holly's dad has addressed the media. Post continues after video.

Once home at their dorm, they didn't leave their beds for 24 hours and failed to check out as scheduled.

Staff found them both seriously unwell, and arranged transport to a hospital for them. 9News has vision of the girls being taken one-by-one on a motorbike.

The women were taken to two separate hospitals in Thailand with suspected methanol poisoning.

On 21 November 2024, it was confirmed that Bianca had died after spending days in a coma, critically ill. Holly died the next day.

In a statement to the Herald Sun, Bianca's family shared, "It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our beloved daughter and sister, Bianca Jones, has passed away".

Earlier they told the publication they were going through "every parent's worst nightmare" saying they "couldn't believe what has happened to our angel.

"Our beautiful Bianca was on a dream getaway with her best friend Holly. They were filled with joy and had such incredible adventures ahead of them, travelling through Asia."

Now, Channel Nine is covering the tragedy on 60 Minutes, as confirmed in a statement released by Bianca Jones' father, Mark Jones.

"As many of you know, a few months ago, my beautiful daughter Bianca and one of her best friends Holly tragically passed away in Thailand after suffering methanol poisoning in Laos while on the trip of a lifetime," he wrote on social media.

"Neither families were aware of the dangers or prevalence of methanol in alcohol in developing countries. Since their passing, l've learned of other incidents, including methanol poisoning cases in Vietnam (involving two British nationals) and Turkey (where 33 people lost their lives and 43 others were hospitalised in serious condition)."

He went on to encourage everyone to watch the 60 Minutes episode to "raise awareness about the risks of methanol poisoning".

Last November, Jones spoke to 7News about how much his daughter Bianca had to look forward to in her life.

"Our daughter was on the trip of a lifetime with one of her best mates. This was meant to be a trip full of lifelong memories and was to be the first of many," he said.

"Bianca wanted to explore the world, meet new friends, lead and create change for good. Her life had just begun. She was a young woman that had a lust for life. A lust for life and adventure, which has cruelly been cut short."

When it came to inspiring change in the future following this tragedy, he believed that "her loss of life has not been in vain" and urged the Laos government "to investigate this to the fullest extent to make sure this incident doesn't happen again".

"Young men and women should be able to travel, create their own life experiences and be safe," he said.

Holly remained critically unwell, and had also spent days in a coma fighting for her life until 22 November 2024, when her father Shaun confirmed she had also died.

"It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace," he told Nine News.

Earlier that week, Holly's father Shaun had told the media, "Our daughter remains in the intensive care unit in a critical condition. She's on life support… We would just like to thank everyone back home for all the support and love".

Speaking from Melbourne, Holly's uncle Dale Bowles had said her parents were at Bangkok Hospital.

"It's so difficult when you're so far away," he told the ABC. "There's just a sick feeling in your stomach that just doesn't go away.

"We're a small family, we're a tight family, we come together in tough situations and there's none tougher than this.

"It's just a day-by-day process at the moment," he said. "At this point … all we can ask her to do is just keep fighting."

Frank's Cafe, where Holly had been working for more than two years also posted a tribute to their Instagram.

"Holly was the best of us. She was sweet, incredibly kind, reliable, funny, diligent, hardworking and extremely capable," they wrote.

"Believe me when I say that I couldn't fault her."

The Beaumaris Football Club, for whom both Holly and Bianca had played, shared a Facebook post in memory of the two women.

"The Beaumaris community is a tight knit one and we will continue to feel this loss for some time to come. Two beautiful lives lost, both with so much potential, love and spirit, leaves us both numb and without words," the club wrote.

"The Beaumaris Football Club will continue to honour Holly and Bianca by continuing to uphold our values of togetherness, care, compassion and mateship. Their impact on all of us will forever be remembered with a deep sense of gratitude, primarily due of their generosity of spirit and their innate ability to unite people."

The women were among a group of 14 tourists who fell ill in what authorities fear was a mass poisoning which also claimed the lives of two Danish women in their 20s. There was also a third suspected methanol poisoning death, a US citizen also staying in Vang Vieng, as reported by the Sydney Morning Herald.

Nana Backpacker Hostel owner Duong van Huan said that he had never seen this happen to any of his guests before, and that he was sure the poisoning didn't take place at the hostel bar.

"This has never happened at the hostel. My business takes care of everyone. We never do anything wrong," the owner told the ABC. "I'm not sure what happened but at the hostel, we only sell drinks, whiskey, cocktails and police have already checked everything."

"All of the alcohol we have is safe. In eight years, this has never happened."

He added that none of the other hostel guests fell ill.

Nana Backpacker Hostel, Laos. Image: TripAdvisor.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed consular assistance is being provided to two Australians and their families.

"Our thoughts are with them at this deeply distressing time," a spokesperson said. "Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment."

Victorian minister Steve Dimopoulos described it as an "absolute tragedy."

"What was meant to be a beautiful holiday full of memories has ended an absolute tragedy, and we all think of people that we love who travel for the joy," the minister told reporters.

"My thoughts go out to them and their families, and we'll obviously find out what exactly happened, but it's an absolute tragedy."

Bianca and Holly graduated from secondary schools in Melbourne's southeast in 2023, with Holly spending her gap year travelling.

Bianca, who started university this year, recently joined her for a holiday.

The friends both played for Beaumaris Football Club, with their teammates "distraught" according to club president Nick Heath.

Image: Beaumaris Football Club.

The dangers of methanol in alcohol.

According to Medecins Sans Frontieres, it can be difficult to differentiate between alcohol that's safe to drink and methanol because it is a colourless alcohol used for industrial purposes.

Thousands of people are poisoned by the substance each year, the organisation said, and the fatality rate in an outbreak is between 20 and 40 per cent.

Australia's Smartraveller website urges tourists to be on the look out for methanol poisoning, saying as little as one shot can be fatal.

"Alcohol production is less regulated in some destinations than in Australia," the website states. "This can lead to methanol being used in the production process to lower costs."

It warns symptoms appear similar to drinking too much but can be "stronger", leading to vision problems including blindness or death.

-With AAP.

A fundraiser has been started to support the families of Bianca and Holly and help them raise awareness about methanol poisoning. To donate, visit here.

This article was originally published in November 2024 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature image: Facebook/The Age.