BANGKOK: The Laos government said on Saturday it was `profoundly saddened` by the deaths of foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, with the toll from a suspected methanol poisoning incident now at six.

Two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians have now died after being rushed to hospital following a night out in backpacker hot spot Vang Vieng.

They were among a group of several foreigners who fellill and were rushed to hospital shortly after Nov 12.

In a statement on its website, Laos` Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday it expressed `sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased`, adding an investigation was underway.

Australian Holly Bowles, 19, became the incident`s latest fatality on Friday when she died in a Bangkok hospital surrounded by family.

Canberra is pressing Laotian authorities for a full and transparent investigation into what happened.

Vang Vieng has been a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail since Laos` secretive communist rulers opened the country to tourism decades ago. The town was once synonymous with backpackers behaving badly at jungle parties but has since re-branded as an eco-tourism destination.-AFP