EGYPT HOLIDAY BRITS KILLED BY E. COLI
THE British couple who died in an Egyptian hotel were exposed to the E.coli bacteria, it was finally confirmed last night.
John Cooper, 69, and wife Susan, 64, fell ill during a Thomas Cook holiday at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Egyptian officials initially said their deaths were caused by respiratory and heart failure, which they branded “normal for an old English man and his wife”. But daughter Kelly Ormerod, 40, claimed her parents, from Burnley, were “fit and healthy” and has demanded a full investigation.
Egypt’s prosecutor-general Nabil Sadek said tests showed Mr Cooper suffered acute intestinal dysentery caused by E.coli. His wife had hemolytic-uremic syndrome, also likely to have been due to the bacteria. He added that there was nothing suspicious in the hotel’s air and water
It is not yet known how the couple were infected by the bug at the five-star resort before they died on August 21.
But Thomas Cook’s own tests found high levels of E.coli and staphylococcus bacteria at the hotel. This week it was revealed the room next to the Coopers’ had recently been fumigated with “farm-strength” insecticide.
Thomas Cook evacuated 300 hotel guests as a precaution, despite denying E.coli killed the holidaying couple. About 200 have since lodged sickness complaints against the resort.
The company said it was now clear that “something went wrong” last month at the hotel, adding that “standards fell below” what is expected from its holiday partners.