200 sickness claims at death hotel

THE all-inclusive hotel in Egypt where John and Susan Cooper died has been subject to at least 200 sickness claims, it emerged last night.

Nearly 300 Thomas Cook customers have been moved amid claims by some guests that they have been struck down with food poisoning.

They have been evacuated from the Aqua Magic hotel as a precaution amid “raised levels of illness” in the popular resort of Hurghada.

But they are not the first to be affected by health concerns.

Hundreds of people are thought to have lodged claims against the hotel in recent years, with some holidaymakers claiming they were served “raw” chicken. Alison Cope said at least 40 tourists fell ill at the hotel with sickness during her holiday there last week and the food standards in the hotel have been “very poor”.

A holidaymaker from Birmingham said his 16-year-old daughter was still “on her knees with food poisoning” after falling ill at the Aqua Magic earlier this month.

He said: “The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham confirmed it was food poisoning.”

The hotel has “past form” when it comes to hygiene and sickness complaints, according to travel claim firms.

Richard Conroy of Sickholiday.com said his firm had lodged 195 claims against the hotel in the previous four years – with most related to Thomas Cook trips.

He said the hotel had a “track record” of holiday sickness.

Lawyer Nick Harris said he feared a cover-up and said the Egyptian government was trying to protect the country’s tourist industry following recent terrorist scares.

Most of the complaints he was dealing with were connected with food at the hotel, he added.

Aqua Magic’s general manager denied there was a spate of illness at the hotel and said early reports suggested the Coopers’ deaths were due to natural causes.