Deaths of couple who moved from Dubai investigated by police in Vietnam

British social media manager Greta Marie Otteson and South African Arno Quinton Els were found dead on Boxing Day

Arno Quinton Els and Greta Marie Otteson were found dead on Boxing Day. They were recently engaged. Photo: Greta Otteson / Facebook

Police in Vietnam are investigating the deaths of a British woman and her South African fiance who worked in Dubai before moving to South-East Asia.

Greta Marie Otteson, 33, and Arno Quinton Els, 36, were found on Boxing Day in separate rooms of their rented villa in Hoi An, an ancient town on Vietnam’s central coast. Cleaners at the Hoi An Silverbell villa found the bodies, with no signs of external injuries. The villa showed no evidence of forced entry or ransacking, according to provincial police.

Mobile phones and other personal belongings were left untouched, while Quang Nam Provincial Police have removed empty liquor bottles for analysis, according to reports. According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Otteson worked as a social media manager in Dubai. Mr Els was reportedly a professional barista in the UAE until the end of 2023.

A report by Vietnam News said the couple had registered for long-term temporary residence at the tourist villa since July 4, 2024. An Instagram video showed they had recently become engaged to be married.

Tributes have been paid across social media. On X, a friend called Kelly posted: “Greta and Arno were such beautiful lights in this world, everything will be a little darker without them in it.”

A UK Foreign Office representative told The National it was “supporting the family of a British woman who has died in Vietnam and is in contact with the local authorities”.

There have been a number of deaths related to contaminated alcohol poisoning across South-East Asia in recent months. In November, six people died from suspected methanol poisoning after drinking contaminated spirits in Laos.

Tourists who fell ill after drinking at bars in Vang Vienna were staying at Nana Backpacker Hostel, whose manager and owner were arrested during an investigation into the deaths of a British woman, two Australian women, an American man and two Danish nationals.

Methanol poisoning has been a persistent issue plaguing backpacker trails across poorer nations along the Mekong river, despite government crackdowns. Methanol is normally used in industrial products from paint thinners to anti-freeze.

However, some makers of illicit liquor add toxic methanol to increase alcohol content cheaply, reports say. It can also be produced by mistake during backyard production of the alcohol found in beverages, scientifically known as ethyl alcohol.

Methanol is colourless and has a similar smell to the alcohol, but it can be deadly in quantities of just 25 millilitres. The effects can take up to 24 hours to appear, and usually include nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain that often escalates to severe respiratory problems if left untreated.