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Wednesday May 23, 2012

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Yarraville man dead in Laos

Posted by: 3AW Radio | 8 February, 2012 - 5:57 PM
laos

A young Australian backpacker found dead in a Laos hotel room has been identified as Yarraville man Alexander Lee.

The 22-year-old's body was found lying beside that of his 18-year-old Dutch girlfriend, Rianne Brouwer, at the backpackers' hotel in Nongkio Village, in the central province of Luang Prabang north of the capital Vientiane, on Saturday.

Hotel staff discovered the bodies lying on the bed after they noticed a strong smell and went to investigate. The couple had not been seen for several days and may have lay in their hotel room for up to four days.

The pair was found embracing "like husband and wife" and prescription medication was strewn around the room, a local tourism official told Channel Nine.

Local police are still investigating the deaths and a post-mortem is being carried out to determine the cause.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that Ms Brouwer, who lived in Bakkum in the Netherlands and graduated from college last year, arrived in the small town on January 31.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed a Victorian man's body had been found in Laos but would not reveal the cause of death.

DFAT were made aware of his death by authorities in Laos on Tuesday and the man's family has been notified.

"Consular staff in Australia are providing assistance to the man's family," a DFAT spokesperson said.

Mr Alexander is the third Australian tourist to die in the south-east Asian country in the past month.

Two other Australians have died in tubing accidents in Laos' popular Vang Vieng in the past month.

Sydneysider Lee Hudswell, 26, died after leaping from a tower on January 10, while Melbourne man Daniel Eimutis, 19, was found dead in a river on January 26, three days after he disappeared while tubing.


- Megan Levy, The Age

EARLIER: Another Victorian has been killed while holidaying in Laos.

The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed a 22-year-old man's body has been found.

The cause of the man's death is not yet known.

There are reports the man's Dutch girlfriend is missing.

Two Australians have been killed in Laos in the past month while tubing in Vang Vieng.

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