Six foreign visitors died earlier this month after suspected methanol poisoning during night out in backpacker hotspot

• What went wrong in Laos?

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

A statement posted on its foreign ministry website expressed “sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased”, adding that an investigation was under way into the cause of the deaths.