October 12, 2011
SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian nurse suffered brain damage and kidney failure after drinking a cocktail called jungle juice on the Indonesian holiday island of Lombok, a report said on Wednesday.
Jamie Johnston, 25, was flown to the Royal Darwin Hospital from Bali in a coma after ordering a jug of arak -- a rice wine popular throughout Southeast Asia -- mixed with fruit juice to share with her mother.
The Sydney Morning Herald said the batch was contaminated with methanol, a toxic chemical often used as an anti-freeze or in paint, which was linked to the deaths of four foreign tourists in 2009 in Bali.
Johnston's mother Lyn, who was not affected, told the newspaper that test results had shown her daughter suffered methanol poisoning after drinking the cocktail on September 20 at the Happy Cafe restaurant.
She fell unconscious and is unable to move or talk properly after suffering brain damage and renal failure.
"We were on our way home when she collapsed. It was a dreadful end," the mother said.
"It has all been unbelievably traumatic and horrible. People need to be warned about this. Potentially she could have been killed. We could
have both been killed."
