OE poisoning survivor to farewell friend

Sarah Carter (left) and her friend Emma Langlands suffered food poisoning after reportedly eating a seaweed delicacy at a Thailand market. Photo / Supplied

One of the survivors of an OE poisoning tragedy in Thailand will be at her best friend's funeral today.

Emma Langlands will farewell Sarah Carter who died while they and a third friend, Amanda Eliason, were holidaying in Chiang Mai.

The university friends, all aged 23, suffered food poisoning after eating from a market near their hotel.

Just two days later - on Waitangi Day - Ms Carter was dead.

Ms Langlands, who was the least affected of the group, is now back home in Hamilton.

Her father, Richard Langlands, yesterday told the Herald that his daughter would pay her respects at Ms Carter's funeral.

Ms Eliason, however, will not be able to attend. She is still in Thailand and is not yet well enough to fly.

Yesterday her grandmother, Val Eliason, told the Herald she had spoken on Saturday to her granddaughter who was recovering well.

It was not yet known when Ms Eliason would be allowed to fly back - accompanied by her parents, Peter and Kay Eliason.

None of Ms Eliason's family, who are from South Taranaki and New Plymouth, would be able to be at the funeral but they would be thinking of her family, Mrs Eliason said.

"I felt so much for the Carter family," she said. "We were pretty emotional about that - although we don't know [the family]. But all those girls were such fine girls."

The three women, who travelled to Thailand for a short holiday, were admitted to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital last week.

It was first reported that they had become sick after eating toxic seaweed but their families later said they had ordered curry.

Ms Carter and Ms Eliason required emergency heart procedures but Ms Carter lost her battle.

She will be farewelled at the All Saints Church in Howick this afternoon at a service where hundreds of people are expected to pay their respects.

A memorial service in Wellington - where she studied at Victoria University and where she worked - is to be held on Thursday.

As Ms Carter's family, friends and members of the public farewell her today, investigations are continuing in Thailand.

A spokesman from the Chiang Mai public health office told the Herald that results sent to a laboratory for testing were not expected for another two weeks.

"It was possibly a virus or a bacterial infection," he said. "But there are many variations. We want to make sure that the laboratory supports our ideas."