Two Australian families among those ill in suspected mass Fiji alcohol poisoning

Two Australian families are receiving assistance after a group of tourists fell ill in a suspected alcohol poisoning incident in Fiji.

Police and health officials were investigating an alleged alcohol poisoning at a resort on Fiji’s Coral Coast after seven guests fell ill after drinking alcohol, local media reported.

The victims were taken to Sigatoka Hospital on Saturday night with “nausea, vomiting, and neurological symptoms”, Fijivillage.com reported.

It said two of the victims were later transferred to Lautoka Hospital.

The victims are reportedly aged between 18 and 56.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said on Sunday it was providing consular assistance to two Australian families in Fiji.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” a spokesperson said.

The department revised its travel advice for Fiji on Sunday following the incident.

“We continue to advise exercise normal safety precautions,” the Smart Traveller advice for Fiji said.

“Be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks.

“Get urgent medical help if you suspect drink spiking.”

The incident in Fiji follows a mass poisoning that killed at least six tourists in Laos including two Australians.

Nineteen-year-old Melbourne friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles died in Thai hospitals in November of suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos.