Six foreign visitors have died after suspected methanol poisoning during night out in backpacker hotspot

• Six people are dead after a suspected mass methanol poisoning. What went wrong in Laos?

The Laos government has said it is “profoundly saddened” by the deaths of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, with the toll from a suspected methanol poisoning incident now at six.

A statement posted on its ministry of foreign affairs website said it expressed “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”, adding an investigation was under way to find the cause of the incident.