Eight employees of a backpacker hostel in Laos have been detained for questioning after six foreign tourists died from suspected methanol poisoning.

James Louis Hutson, 57, of the US, and Anne-Sofie Orkild Coyman, 20 and Freja Vennervald Sorensen, 21, both Danish, were staying at the Nana hostel in Van Vieng, approximately two hours north of the nation's capital Vientiane, when they became ill.

T he death of six tourists visiting Laos is suspected to be the result of mass methanol poisoning, after all are believed to have consumed alcoholic drinks tainted with the toxic substance. With officials issuing fresh warnings about the dangers of ingesting methanol, here’s what you should know about what it is and how it affects the body.

An American citizen has died at a popular adventure spot in Laos where alcohol tainted with methanol has been blamed for a spate of poisonings in recent days.

British backpacker Tash Moore, 21, arrived in Laos just days after six people fell victim to a suspected mass methanol poisoning incident, but she says bar staff in Vang Vieng were still pouring free shots for tourists.

As some of their number succumbed to methanol poisoning, other guests at the Laotian hostel at the centre of the probe tried to warn others to stay away - and the hostel reportedly deleted their warning.

A third Australian has fallen ill after consuming methanol-laced alcohol in Laos. So far, six people have died and eight arrests have been made in what is suspected to be a mass methanol poisoning.

A third Australian is ill after a suspected mass poisoning event in Laos, as pressure mounts on the South East Asian nation to provide answers after the deaths of six tourists.

A Kiwi tourist believed to have been caught up in a mass methanol poisoning in Laos that has killed multiple people has returned home. Six people have died and others have been violently ill after the suspected poisoning at a popular backpacker town in the Southeast Asian country.

The bodies of two Melbourne teenagers who died in Laos after suspected methanol poisoning have been returned home. Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles were among six foreign tourists who died after drinking tainted cocktails.