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Father of Australian hospitalised in Fiji shares ‘horrific’ experience

Georgia Sandoe-Simpson suffered a seizure after drinking at a bar at the Warwick Resort.

Georgia Sandoe-Simpson suffered a seizure after drinking at a bar at the Warwick Resort. Photos: Facebook

Two Australians hospitalised in a suspected mass alcohol poisoning are on their way home as Fiji reassures tourists of their safety.

Fiji’s Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said Saturday’s suspected poisoning at the Warwick Resort’s Suva Bar was an isolated incident, and was being thoroughly investigated.

“I tell you, the people in the hospitality industry are in a state of shock right now,” he said.

“We never believed this could happen.

“Of course it has [been reported] globally. But, you know, the damage control is in place now. And once the facts become known, we believe it’ll bring back the confidence on Fiji very, very quickly.”

The incident at the five-star Warwick Resort on Fiji’s Coral Coast on Saturday night comes only weeks after two Australians died in Laos from a suspected mass methanol poisoning.

Four Australian tourists, an American visitor and two foreigners who live in the Pacific Island nation were among those who fell ill.

The victims were rushed to nearby Sigatoka Hospital with “nausea, vomiting, and neurological symptoms”, Fijivillage.com reported.

They were all later transferred to Lautoka Hospital, which is bigger and closer to Nadi airport, because of the severity of their symptoms.

By Monday afternoon (Australian time), however, Georgia Sandoe, 56, and her daughter Georgia Sandoe-Simpson, 19, had been released from hospital to catch a scheduled flight home to Sydney.

The conditions of the two other Australians had been upgraded from critical to stable and the other patients had been released from hospital.

David Sandoe said his daughter and granddaughter will arrive in Sydney later on Monday, after being discharged from hospital and receiving confirmation they were medically fit to travel.

“Like everyone else when this news broke we all thought back to what recently happened in Asia which sends shivers down your spine, so we’re so grateful and very fortunate,” he told Sky News on Monday.

It was a horrific experience, he said, describing a late-night call from his daughter telling him she had been taken to hospital as “quite something else”.

Georgia suffered a seizure after drinking a cocktail, he said.

She had a pre-existing condition that affected her immune system which was a major concern, Sandoe said, but the fear was quelled when he spoke to doctors in Fiji.

“All we’re concerned about at the moment is to make sure we get our loved ones home and for those others who are not as fortunate as us to have them back today, then we’re still feeling for them,” Sandoe said.

“It is is a horrific experience and, of course, like everyone else when this news broke we all thought back to what recently happened in Asia, which sends shivers down your spine.”

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. That incident also claimed four other lives.

Earlier, Gavoka said “the whole case is quite mystifying”. He said many guests had drunk the prepackaged pina coladas believed to be responsible for the symptoms.

“Let me say here particularly that Warwick has five bars altogether. This was in Suva Bar, and the pina colada was served in the other four bars during the evening, and no one got ill,” he said.

Toxicology testing and the investigation into Saturday’s incident were continuing on Monday.

Warwick Fiji said it was waiting for the test results “to gather all necessary information” about the incident.

“Please rest assured that we are taking this matter very seriously and are currently conducting a thorough investigation,” it said.

“We do not have conclusive details but we are committed to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our guests.”

Australia has revised its travel advice for Fiji, warning travellers to “be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks”.

-with AAP

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