Two Australian women hospitalised after consuming cocktails at a five-star hotel in Fiji are stable and set to fly home, as the Pacific island nation's government insists the incident was "extremely isolated".
Four Australian women, aged between 18 and 56, were among seven people sent to hospital after drinking at a bar at the Warwick Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast on Saturday.
David Sandoe, from Sydney, said his daughter Tanya and granddaughter Georgia had been at the Warwick Resort and consumed the cocktails in question.
He said the duo fell ill and spent Saturday evening and Sunday in hospital, but they had now been discharged. He said they were accompanied by Australian consular staff to the airport in Fiji and were due to arrive into Sydney Airpot this evening.
He told the ABC the pair were now doing "very well" given the circumstances.
"It's very difficult to take a call at 11 o'clock at night and your daughter and granddaughter are away — and your daughter says that they have been poisoned and they're in hospital," Mr Sandoe said.
"It is your worst nightmare."
Mr Sandoe said his relatives had "banded together" with another affected mother and daughter pair from Australia who had consumed a "similar cocktail" who, the ABC understands, are still in hospital.
Authorities from Fiji's Ministry of Health said the patients had suffered nausea, vomiting and "neurological symptoms".
Speaking at a press conference on Monday afternoon, Fiji's Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism Minister Viliame Gavoka said the situation was "very serious" but that the two remaining in hospital were "stable".
He said as they were still waiting on a toxicology report he could not rule out methanol poisoning, but said it was something "I don't believe is possible in Fiji".
"The people in the hospitality industry are in a state of shock right now," Mr Gavoka said.
"We never believed this could happen.
"Of course it has [been reported] globally. But, you know, the damage control is in place now. And once the facts become known, we believe it'll bring back the confidence on Fiji very, very quickly."
[map]He said toxicology tests were being undertaken by the Fiji Police Force.
The ABC was told that some of the guests started having fits, chills and tremors after drinking the pina coladas on Saturday afternoon at the Warwick Resort and were later taken to Lautoka Hospital.
Mr Gavoka said they were trying to get to the bottom of what happened.
"In the same bar, there were many pina coladas served that evening. And with this resort, there are five bars altogether," he said, adding at the resort's four other bars there had been "no ill effects".
Australian travel advice for Fiji updated
The Australian government overnight updated its travel warning for Fiji, warning travellers to look for the potential risks of "drink spiking and methanol poisoning" when consuming alcoholic beverages.
Carmel Marasco, a guest at the resort from Melbourne, told the ABC she was "quite upset" about the incident.
"I've been to the Warwick four times, I think, with my children and family, and it has never happened before," she said.
"I was sitting there the same day, drinking the same cocktail."
Federal minister Jason Clare told ABC News Breakfast on Monday morning that the incident in Fiji was "terrifying news".
"There's a real terrifying sense of deja vu, it's only a month ago two young Australian women died in Laos from methanol poisoning," Mr Clare said, referring to the deaths of Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles last month.
"When we wake up to hear this horrific news in Fiji, I'm sure all Australians have their heart in mouth and are hoping for the best."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said consular assistance was being provided to the two Australian families in Fiji.
Three other people, understood to be two US nationals and a Fijian, also fell ill after drinking at the bar on Saturday night and were being monitored overnight. But it is understood they have been now been released from hospital.
Mr Gavoka, Fiji's deputy prime minister, said that being a tourist in the country was "typically very safe" and that the government sought to reassure international tourists that it was a "very isolated incident".
"As we approach the festive season, we always advise everyone to exercise the usual caution about what they consume," he said.
Earlier, the Warwick Resort told the ABC it was still operational after the hospitalisation of its guests.
"We don't have anything to disclose because the resort is under investigation," the resort's reception said.
