Eight staff members at Laos hostel arrested over 'tainted shot' tourist deaths - All six victims were staying at the NANA Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng - a popular tourist spot

Several members of staff from a hostel in Laos have reportedly been arrested after six tourists died from a suspected mass poisoning.

The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

A New Zealander who had fallen ill from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos has now returned home, authorities have confirmed. No other details were given about the tourist, who is among several that fell sick or died in recent weeks after consuming what may have been tainted drinks in Laos.

Eight people have been detained over the suspected mass methanol poisoning in Laos which has left six tourists dead, including two Australians.

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.

Laos party-goers are on edge and sticking to beer after six tourists were killed by 'methanol poisoning', with backpackers in the south-east Asian town in Laos speaking of their experiences

A second Australian teenager who fell critically ill after drinking tainted alcohol in Laos has died, according to a family statement sent to Australian media.

Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent, was one of a number of people taken to hospital after the incident in the popular backpacking town of Vang Vieng last week

A New Zealand citizen poisoned after drinking contaminated alcohol in a popular tourist town in Laos has returned home, authorities said on Monday, as Laos pledged to prosecute those responsible for the incident which has killed six tourists.