What is methanol, how does it get into alcoholic drinks and why is it so dangerous?

Poisoning can overload the body with acid, causing vomiting, abdominal pain, unconsciousness and vision loss

Two Australian teenagers are severely ill in hospital in Thailand after experiencing suspected methanol poisoning while travelling in Laos.

The pair are among several foreign nationals to become ill after unknowingly consuming alcoholic drinks containing methanol in the south-east Asian country. Three deaths have reportedly been linked to the mass poisoning.