• Tourists die from suspected food poisoning
• Thai authorities claim deaths are a "coincidence"
• Travellers warned about visiting Chiang Mai

Travellers to Thailand are being warned to beware of food poisoning following a spate of mysterious deaths in a town popular with foreign tourists.

Four tourists and a Thai tour guide have died in the hill town of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand over a five-week period this year.

At least two of the victims had eaten Japanese food before they fell ill, while four were staying at the same hotel.

A 33-year-old American woman, Soraya Pandola, was the first victim to die of swelling of the heart muscles - which can be caused by food poisoning - on January 11 when she became violently ill after eating at a Japanese restaurant.

A 23-year-old New Zealand woman Sarah Carter, who had also eaten Japanese food, also died of swelling of the heart on February 5 - a day after Thai tour guide Waraporn Yingmahasawanont died in the room next door at the same hotel, the Downtown Inn, after suffering food poisoning.

British pensioners George and Eileen Everitt were found dead in the same hotel three weeks later with enlargement of the heart muscles and blocked arteries.

Two friends of Ms Carter also fell ill but later recovered.

Thai authorities are investigating the incidents, but have so far claimed the deaths are a coincidence.

The husband of the first victim, Tony Pandola, said the idea the deaths were a coincidence was "ridiculous".

He is furious that after the death of Ms Carter a health official was quoted as saying nothing like that had ever happened in Chiang Mai before.

"Soraya is the only victim that I know of that wasn't staying at the Downtown Inn, but still died of eerily similar causes," Mr Pandola said.

"As of now, there is still too much unknown about these deaths for me to offer any informed advice to travellers about how to stay completely safe.

"My fear is that this will happen yet again if the Thai authorities continue to do nothing.

"I greatly want to convince the Thai authorities that they will save far more face in the eyes of the international community by being proactive and cooperative, than by denying there is a problem - as they have thus far - and risking the lives of future travellers to the area."

Mr Pandola said the mishandling of the incidents by Thai officials did not reflect the good nature of the Thai people.

Thailand tourism representative Pongsak Kanittanon said Thai authorities were still investigating whether the Thai tour guide had food poisoning before she checked in or she developed it after she got in at the hotel.

"The authority didn't get a full cooperation from the relatives, citing they don't want to be in the news," he said.

"The English couple died of heart disease... the New Zealander died from a certain type of virus, the health authority has sent the sample to overseas lab for autopsy and still waiting for the result to come back but at the same time they are monitoring the two friends who are recovering from home.

"Apparently these three girls are very careful of eating, the symptoms developed on the first day when they arrived in Chiang Mai and the staff took them to the hospital."

This was a headliner a few months ago, as soon as the obituaries made it into public record. One of the now departed hails from New Zealand. The parents are suspecting a cover-up. They were so adamant, they even sent swabs of her DNA all the way to the USA for a second opinion. I think the government even "backed-up" the family here. Justice needs to be served! BIG TIME!!!