Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Three young Kiwi women struck down after eating toxic seaweed in Thailand - one has died...

Rice fields near Chiang Mai, Thailand. Campos ...Image via Wikipedia
Three young Kiwi women struck down after eating toxic seaweed in Thailand - one has died...


A young south Taranaki woman is on the road to recovery after eating toxic seaweed, which claimed the life of her friend.

Amanda Eliason, 24, and Sarah Carter, 23, were struck down with what they thought was a bad case of food poisoning on Friday.

The two had eaten seaweed they bought from a food market while on holiday in Thailand.

Less than 48 hours later, Carter, a chemistry student at Victoria University, died at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, NZPA reports.

Her dad, Richard, told reporters he and his wife Anne received a call from the hospital on Friday to tell them their daughter was ill.

''We spoke with her about 10pm that night and it appeared to be just bad food poisoning. She appeared withdrawn and not sounding that good but seemed all right.

''And we just said, ‘oh yeah, well have a good night's sleep and you should be fine in the morning, you should be all clear'.

''But within an hour of our conversation the thing just spread to her heart and strangled her heart.''

The mother and brother of Ms Carter are expected to bring her body home this week.

A third friend, Emma Langlands, 23, who ordered a different meal, also suffered food poisoning but was not seriously ill.

Eliason's parents, Peter and Kay, from Kaponga, flew to Thailand on Monday to be with their daughter.

She is recovering from emergency heart surgery in intensive care.

"We're taking each day as it comes...They won't allow her to fly (home) until they are very sure that - because of the heart - she's very ready to fly," Kay Eliason told Radio New Zealand.

She said doctors had taken blood samples but were still unsure what caused the illness.

Acknowledgements: MSN News



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