Bali Wine Tragedy: Russian Tourist Dies, Partner in Coma After Drinking Local Bottle

A holiday on Bali turned into a nightmare for two Russian tourists. Elena (name changed) arrived on the island with her boyfriend on May 31. That evening, she bought a bottle of local wine from a roadside shop. The couple shared it. Hours later, Elena felt violently ill—nausea and convulsions struck before she lost consciousness. She was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator. Doctors administered anti-seizure medication and sedatives. A brain scan came back normal, but blood tests revealed dangerously high acidity. The diagnosis: methanol poisoning. Her boyfriend did not survive. Elena had no travel medical insurance. After three days in intensive care, she owes the hospital 425 million Indonesian rupiah—nearly two million rubles. Friends say local facilities lack the equipment and specialists to treat her properly. Her family is now scrambling to arrange an emergency evacuation back to Russia. The incident follows another recent Bali mishap, where a Russian tourist woke up with a chemical burn on her face after a tomcat beetle crawled on her while she slept.