Guest recalls friend ‘foaming at the mouth’ after suspected alcohol poisoning at Fiji resort

There are grave fears for several tourists, including four Australians, who were hospitalised in a critical condition after falling ill in a suspected mass poisoning at a resort in Fiji at the weekend.

Authorities are investigating an alleged alcohol poisoning after seven guests staying at the Warwick Resort on the Coral Coast fell ill after drinking cocktails at the venue bar on Saturday night.

The victims were taken to nearby Sigatoka Hospital on Saturday night with “nausea, vomiting, and neurological symptoms”, local media reports.

All seven patients, including four Australians, aged between 18 and 56, were later transferred to Lautoka Hospital due to the severity of their conditions.

A resort guest has since shared graphic details of the terrifying symptoms that his friend showed after drinking an allegedly poisoned piña colada.

The man, who requested to remain anonymous, told Daily Mail Australia his friend was “foaming at the mouth” and suffering seizures hours after drinking at the bar.

He said an Australian woman was seen bleeding from the ears.

The man had travelled with three friends from Suva, Fiji’s capital, to the resort for a weekend getaway. He told the Daily Mail their group ordered five cocktails from the resort bar at about midday on Saturday.

“The people who drank the piña colada became unwell,” he said.

“My friend was the worst of the lot”

He said his group went to check on their friend at about 5pm to “get ready for dinner” when they found her unwell.

The guest believes about 12 guests, all women, were hospitalised, including at least six foreigners.

“I could identify them as Warwick guests because they all had the resort armbands on,” he said.

Among them, he continued, was a “young girl, possibly aged between eight and 12, who’d had a sip of her mum’s cocktail”.

“They’re both in a terrible state”.

On Sunday, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to two families in Fiji but could not provide further comment.

The department revised its travel advice for Fiji on Sunday following the incident.

“We continue to advise exercise normal safety precautions,” the Smart Traveller advice for Fiji said.

“Be alert to the potential risks around drink spiking and methanol poisoning through consuming alcoholic drinks.

“Get urgent medical help if you suspect drink spiking.”

An investigation into the alleged poisoning is under way.

The incident in Fiji follows a mass poisoning that killed at least six tourists in Laos, including two Australians.

Melbourne friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, both 19-years-old, died in Thai hospitals in November of suspected methanol poisoning after drinking tainted alcohol at a hostel bar in the tourist town of Vang Vieng.