A New Zealand woman on holiday in Thailand has died and her two friends are seriously ill after contracting what is thought to be food poisoning.
Sarah Katherine Carter, 23, died at Chiang Mai Ram Hospital, in northern Thailand, on Sunday morning from a food-related illness, according to an online memorial website.
Carter died from eating toxic seaweed, after she and her two friends became ill after eating at a food market in Chiang Mai on Friday, news website stuff.co.nz reported on Tuesday.
An NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said Carter's two female friends were being treated in hospital.
One, Amanda Eliason, 24, was in intensive care recovering from emergency heart surgery, Radio New Zealand reported.
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Carter's devastated father told stuff.co.nz the hospital had called when his daughter was admitted and he had talked to her.
"It appeared to be just bad food poisoning. She appeared withdrawn and not sounding that good, but seemed all right. But within an hour of our conversation the thing just spread to her heart and strangled her heart."
His wife was in transit at Bangkok Airport when his daughter died, and he had to call her with the awful news.
The New Zealand embassy in Bangkok was in contact with the families of the trio.
