Seattle woman dies from unknown causes in Thailand
BANGKOK -- Two young women tourists, one from Seattle and the other from Norway, have died after suddenly falling ill within hours of each other this past weekend at the same guest house in southern Thailand.
Thai police said Thursday they did not know the cause of death of the two, who were staying on Koh Phi Phi, a popular island destination for budget travelers. Theories include food or alcohol poisoning and toxic fumes in their bungalows, but nothing has been proved.
The mysterious deaths, especially if not soon explained, could deal another blow to Thailand's tourism industry, which has been battered by the world economic downturn and domestic political unrest that saw Bangkok's two airports closed down by demonstrators for a week last year and rioting in the Thai capital.
The American victim has been identified by her family as Jill St. Onge, 27, a bartender and artist from Seattle. She died on Sunday.
Norwegian media and the Web newspaper Andaman Times , which covers southern Thailand, identified the Norwegian woman as Julie Michelle Bergheim, 22. She died Monday.
Both had been staying at the Laleena guesthouse. Another 19-year-old Norwegian woman staying with Bergheim also fell ill with the same symptoms, but survived.
"One of them was vomiting so the guesthouse owners and one of their friends rushed her to the hospital on Phi Phi," said police Capt. Pantanan Santhong. "Another one later had the same symptoms. They died at the hospital. Doctors said it was due to dehydration and shock."
"Right now, we do not have any further information on what happened and how it happened," he said. We are investigating."
The bodies of both victims have been taken to Bangkok for autopsies but no results were available.
A number of theories have been floated about what could have caused the deaths. They include poisoning from food or alcohol and energy drinks, tainted water, cyanide poisoning from an unknown source, carbon monoxide poisoning and toxic fumes sucked in through the air conditioning - both victims were staying in air-conditioned rooms.
"I'm sorry about the lady tourists. but it is not my fault," Asan Buntam, the guest house owner, told The Associated Press by phone. "It was the same thing, their stomachs hurt and they were throwing up. ... I think it was because everyone went out drinking and partying."
The guest house is a 10-room backpacker hotel on the island where air-conditioned rooms like the ones both tourists stayed in cost about 600 baht ($17) a night.
St. Onge had been on a three-month tour of Southeast Asia with her fiancé Ryan Kells, according to a blog established in her memory by her family.
It cited his account of her death.
"From what we understand (and this most likely will be refined as more information becomes available) Jill had a mild case of food sickness. Pretty typical in Thailand and no cause for real concern as it happened a few times before. Jill went to her room to rest for a spell. Ryan stayed out to get lunch and check the Internet.
"When he returned a couple hours later he found Jill in pretty bad shape. Jill said she needed to go to the hospital. She was so weak he carried her until he found a cart. Ryan was screaming in the streets for help as she was deteriorating fast. They got help from a great guy named Per. He helped Ryan get Jill to the clinic. Unfortunately by the time she arrived she had stopped breathing. They worked on her for around 45 min but to no avail. It happened very fast."
Fewer details were available about Bergheim, who Norwegian media identified as coming from Drammen, near Oslo.
"I don't know if it was something she ate or if it was because she went out to party," guest house owner Asan said. "She came back at night and the next morning, the cleaning staff knocked on her door to clean. They saw her throwing up and my brother took her to the hospital."
Seattlepi.com May 7, 2009