Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder pays tribute to Laos methanol poisoning victims Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles

Iconic US rock bank Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has paused the band’s Sydney concert mid-show to pay tribute to Laos methanol poisoning victim Bianca Jones, who died this week, and offer support to her friend Holly Bowles who is still fighting for life.

The young women from Melbourne were among a dozen tourists who became ill from drinking tainted alcohol in the popular Laos town of Vang Vieng on November 13.

On Thursday, the Jones family confirmed Bianca, 19, had died after spending more than a week in a coma in a Bangkok hospital.

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Bowles, also 19, continues to fight for life in a separate hospital.

Overnight, British lawyer Simone White, 28, was confirmed as the fifth casualty in the mass poisoning. Two Danish women and an American have also died.

Jones and Bowles, both from Beaumaris in Melbourne’s southeast, had been in Laos as part of a gap year trip they had been planning together for years.

Vedder highlighted the girls’ “sense of travel, adventure, gusto, (and) verve”.

“To hear the story about these two young girls in Laos … (it’s) absolutely f****** senseless,” Vedder said.

“The one young woman, Bianca Jones, she’s passed.

“Her friend Holly Bowles is hanging on and we wish her the best and we’re thinking of the parents.

“And we send our — we don’t want it to be empty — all our thoughts, it can’t be empty if there’s 50,000 of us.

“We’re sending everything we have got your way. So sorry.”

In a statement confirming her death, Jones’ family said she was “surrounded by love and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us”.

The family said they were humbled by the support they had received during what has been an “unimaginable time”.

7NEWS has been told the family will begin making preparations to bring her body home, however, this could take several weeks due to the police investigation into the incident.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Jones in federal parliament on Thursday, saying her death was a “terrible and cruel loss”.

“This is every parent’s very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure,” he said during Question Time.

“All Australians offer them our deepest sympathy in this time of heartbreak.

“Bianca’s trip should have been a joyous time and a source of fond memories in years to come, memories that she should have carried with her into the long, bright future that lay ahead of her.

“It is beyond sad that this was not to be.

“We also take this moment to say we are thinking of Bianca’s friend, Holly Bowles, who is fighting for her life.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong also offered her sympathies to the Jones family and said drink spiking and methanol poisoning were “far too common in many parts of the world”.

“At this time I would say to parents, to young people, please have a conversation about risks, please inform yourselves, please let’s work together to ensure this tragedy doesn’t happen again,” she said.

On Wednesday, Bowles’ father Shaun Bowles said his daughter remained in a critical condition in hospital in Bangkok.

“Right now our daughter remains in the intensive care unit in a critical condition. She’s on life support,” he said.

“We’d just like to thank everyone from back home for all the support and love that we’re receiving but we’d also like for people to appreciate right now we just need privacy so we can spend as much time as we can with Holly.”

Bowles’ former school, Beaumaris Secondary College, asked the community to keep the teenager in their thoughts.

“Our thoughts, love, and prayers are with Holly Bowles, her family, and everyone in our community during this incredibly difficult time,” the school said.

“We stand together, offering strength and support to Holly’s loved ones and to each other.”

The teens have been described as “valued members” of the Beaumaris Football Club, where they played football.

Beaumaris Football Club president Nick Heath choked back tears as spoke about them on Sunrise.

“They’re both energetic,” he said of Jones and Bowles.

“They’ve both got a real zest for throwing themselves into life.

“So, it’s no surprise they went off on this great adventure overseas after COVID, when their footy career was interrupted for a few years.

“A lot of our young people are just now catching up (after they) missed out during COVID years, where they can now go and see the world and socialise.

“Then something like this happens and it just rocks you.”

Methanol concerns

A doctor told 7NEWS methanol is a poison and just one shot can make you blind. Two shots are potentially deadly.

Methanol is often deliberately added to drinks as a cheaper alternative to ethanol, the compound that makes a drink alcoholic.

Australian man Colin Ahearn runs the Facebook advisory page Just Don’t Drink Spirits in Bali. He said methanol is often used in lower socioeconomic areas such as Bali and Laos where people are struggling to make ends meet and could “make a quick buck”.

“Methanol is pretty cheap … it can be bought online and in an industrial amount, and it’s often added to cheaper, nasty spirits,” he told 7NEWS.com.au on Wednesday.

“So, instead of imported, taxed, legitimate spirits … methanol can be used.”

Ahearn said methanol is odourless and tasteless so “there’s not really any way of telling” if it is in your drink.