Did Canadian sisters die of blowfish poisoning? Bodies of two women sent to Bangkok for more tests as police remain baffled by violent deaths

Audrey and Noemi Belanger, 20 and 26, were college students from a well-known family in a small Quebec town



Initial expert examination suggests exotic food may have been the cause of their death



Pair found dead and covered in vomit and skin lesions in hotel room on resort island of Phi Phi

Case is similar to an American and a Norwegian who died in 2009

Two Canadian sisters found dead in a Thai hotel room may have died from food poisoning caused by eating blowfish or poisonous mushrooms.

Audrey and Noemi Belanger, aged 20 and 26, were found on Friday, June 15 by a hotel maid, three days after they were last seen while on a night out.

Officials said the sisters were covered in vomit, had skin lesions and were bleeding from their gums . Both women's fingernails and toenails were blue and had blood under them.

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Toxic: Thai police suspect Audrey and Noemi Belanger, pictured, may have been the victims of 'serious food poisoning' in Thailand

Well-known: The Belanger sisters, pictured here with their family, are popular in the small Quebec town where they grew up

Dr Komkrit Phukrityakame, Director of Krabi Hospital, said today he had carried out an initial examination , The Phuket News reports.



He said he suspected the pair had been poisoned, and that the source could have been a meal which included blowfish or poisonous mushrooms.



The popular college students, who were from a small town in Quebec, near the border with Maine, were discovered at the Phi Phi Palm Residence Hotel on the tourist resort island of Phi Phi.

Thai police had previously said they suspected the sisters may have succumbed to 'serious food poisoning.'

Muang Krabi police chief Thaksin Pochakorn said there were no signs of a struggle in their rooms or on their bodies.



Pol Col Thaksin told the Bangkok Post : ' We are waiting for the post-mortem examination of the victims' inner organs to see if there are any traces of toxic substances.'



Bodies: Local paramedics, pictured, took the sisters to hospital after hotel staff discovered them dead

Body bags: The sisters' bodies, pictured, will undergo autopsies to confirm how the women died

Lt Col Rat Somboon, of the Krabi Provincial Police, said he estimated the women had been dead for between 12 and 20 hours when their bodies were discovered.



Police said initial investigations did not indicate any violence in their hotel room. Investigators have ruled out foul play.



Lt Col Jongrak Pimthong said: 'There were neither signs of fighting, nor robbery, but we found many kinds of over-the-counter-drugs, including ibuprofen, which can cause serious effects on the stomach.'



The women, from a well-know family the town of Pohenegamook, about 150 miles northeast of Quebec City, had checked into the hotel on Tuesday.

Lt Siwa Saneha of Phi Phi Island police said : 'They went out and came back to their room that same night, but stayed in their room all day on Wednesday .

'A maid knocked on the door to clean the room on Thursday, but there was no response, so the maid thought the women needed more rest and left.'

Island: The sisters were holidaying on Phi Phi Island, pictured, in Thailand

Paradise: Phi Phi Island, pictured, is where the Canadian sisters were found dead on Friday

He said hotel staff became concerned for their welfare and used the master key to enter the room.



Col Somboon said: 'There was a lot of vomit in the room, and both bodies showed similar signs [of trauma].

'They had skin lesions and it seemed that they had bled from the gums. Also, their fingernails and toenails were blue .

'We will have experts conduct tests on the vomit and urine samples taken from the scene to try to determine the cause of death.'

In a similar case in May 2009, an American woman and a Norwegian woman died after suffering severe vomiting and dehydration at a Phi Phi guesthouse. The cause of death was never determined.

Phi Phi Island in the Andaman sea is 500 miles south of Bangkok. The sisters bodies were taken to Krabi Hospital on the Thai mainland before being sent to Bangkok today.

T he close knit Canadian community where the sisters came from has been in mourning following their shocking death.

Joanie Ouellet, a former colleague of one of the pair, said on Saturday: 'The mood is quite sad in the town today.'



The sisters’ great-aunt, Colette Belanger, said she heard about the deaths on the news.



'I doubted that it was Audrey and Noemi,' she said.

Blowfish, is extremely poisonous if not prepared properly, but considered a delicacy in Japan and is eaten by thrill-seeking gourmets.