Details have emerged about the first three tourists to have died from suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, Laos.

A Laos government document, sighted by some media, has shed light on the deaths of an American man and two Danish women.

They were the first victims of suspected tainted alcohol, which also killed Australian teens Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles and UK lawyer Simone White.

Nine newspapers report that the American victim was found dead in his hostel room, while the two Danish victims were discovered unconscious on their bathroom floor.

On November 13, a hostel worker noticed that the American had not left his room, said a translation of the document reported by The Age.

“He took the master key and saw that the person was lying on the bed … after that, the owner of the guest house and seven employees moved the dead body to Vang Vieng Hospital,” it stated.

“Inside the room there were four bottles of beer that had been drunk and two bottles of vodka that had been drunk and one bottle was still not consumed. The body was without wounds or swelling.”

Doctors did not determine a cause of death because the American “died before arriving at the hospital”.

The document reported that the two Danish women went out to the bars in Vang Vieng and returned to their hostel at about midnight on November 12.

“Until November 13, they slept in the room and did not go out,” the document stated.

“At 6pm, the guest house staff went to check and saw [the Danish women] lying unconscious on the bathroom floor, so they were brought to Vang Vieng Hospital. At that time, they were in a coma.”

Doctors moved the pair to a hospital in the capital of Vientiane.

“The doctor diagnosed the problem as sudden heart failure,” the document said. “Their families will take their bodies back to perform an autopsy in Denmark.”

Laotian authorities have been facing intense diplomatic pressure and on Saturday officially acknowledged the mass poisoning for the first time.

In a short statement released to the media, the Laotian government said it was “profoundly saddened over the loss of lives of foreign tourists” and offered its condolences to the families of the victims.

“The government of the Lao PDR has been conducting investigations to find causes of the incident and to bring the perpetrators to justice in accordance with the law,” it said.

Laos is a one-party communist state with no organised opposition and the government keeps a tight lid on information.

In this case, officials have released almost no details.

The police have said they had detained a number of people but refused to provide further information.

Details have been murky over the number of tourists affected and the possible source of the methanol-laced drinks.

Nineteen-year-old Australians Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles died in Thai hospitals on Thursday and Friday respectively.

The teenagers had been evacuated from Laos to Thailand for emergency treatment.

Both were found sick in their room at the Nana Backpacker Hostel on November 13 after they failed to check out as planned.

Methanol is sometimes added to mixed drinks at disreputable bars as a cheaper alternative to ethanol but can cause severe poisoning or death.

It is also a by-product of poorly distilled home-brew liquor, and could inadvertently have found its way into bar drinks.

The US State Department on Friday issued a health alert for citizens travelling in Laos, warning of “suspected methanol poisoning in Vang Vieng, possibly through the consumption of methanol-laced alcoholic drinks”, following similar alerts from other countries whose citizens were involved.

Landlocked Laos is one of Southeast Asia’s poorest nations and a popular tourist destination.

Vang Vieng is particularly popular among backpackers seeking partying and adventure sports.

-with AAP