Two Australian teens fighting for life after suspected methanol poisoning in Southeast Asia

Two young Melbourne women are on life support after consuming cocktails suspected to be laced with methanol while on holiday in Southeast Asia.

The women, believed to be aged 19 and at least one of whom graduated from Beaumaris Secondary College in Melbourne’s southeast last year, had been travelling the region as part of a wider group when the nightmare began.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Two young Melbourne women on life support following suspected methanol poisoning

The pair fell ill on Friday while staying at a backpackers hostel near the Thailand and Laos border.

One of the women has been flown to a hospital in Bangkok, with her family now by her side, while the other remains at a hospital in Udon Thani.

There are unconfirmed reports that two other people have died and 10 are sick.

A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade says it is providing consular assistance to two Australians and their families in Thailand.

“Our thoughts are with them at this deeply distressing time,” the spokesperson said.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”

Methanol is often deliberately added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, which is the normal alcohol used in alcoholic drinks.

According to the Methanol Institute, this usually occurs in countries where taxes on ethanol are seen as too high.

Drinking just 25-90 mL of methanol can be fatal, the institute said.

Severe symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting, emergency physician Doctor Stephen Parnis told 7NEWS.

“It can start affecting (your) brain. You can become comatose. You can become blind temporarily or permanently and it can kill you,” he said.

“Early recognition of this is important and early treatment by specialist hospitals is the way we can save these people’s lives.”