Now a 4th death in Egypt on Thomas Cook holiday

British mother killed in boating accident at Red Sea resort

A BRITISH mother has been killed in a banana boat accident at the same Egyptian resort where a couple died suddenly a week before.

The woman, thought to be in her 50s or 60s, was trapped under the inflatable when it flipped in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada. She died in front of her daughter.

The tragedy happened last Tuesday exactly a week after John and Susan Cooper, from Burnley, died suddenly and in mysterious circumstances at the five- star Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada.

Thomas Cook said it was investigating the banana boat tragedy after it emerged that the woman had booked her holiday through the firm. A spokesman said the trip had been temporarily taken off sale.

Mr Cooper, 69, and his 63-year-old wife also booked their holiday through Thomas Cook, as did Alison Sonnex, 54, a Briton who died in similar circumstances to the Coopers at another Egyptian resort.

A holidaymaker who was on the banana boat during the accident said his group had been returning from a dolphinwatching tour when they were given the opportunity to ride on the inflatable.

The man, a former soldier who did not want to be named, told the Sun Online how the banana boat flipped after the speedboat ‘bombed out’ on the water.

All the occupants were thrown from the vessel but the victim became trapped underneath, he said. She was eventually pulled from the water and passengers tried desperately to resuscitate her on the main boat before a doctor arrived.

‘I could hear the woman’s daughter wailing, as she knew there was something seriously wrong with her mum,’ he said. ‘They got the lady back on [the boat] and were doing chest compressions, but at no point were there any breaths.’

A Thomas Cook spokesman confirmed the death. ‘ We would like to offer our sincere condolences to the family, and our welfare team continue to do all they can to support them at this time,’ he added. ‘ We are urgently investigating what happened.’

News of her death emerged as it was revealed that the Coopers were staying next to a room that had been fumigated hours earlier.

Pest controllers sprayed chemicals into the neighbouring room the day before the apparently health couple died suddenly within hours of each other.

Their bedroom was the only one which connected to the room that had been fumigated, and sources claimed the two rooms shared a false ceiling, raising fears the Coopers could have been poisoned by toxic gases.

Their daughter, Kelly Ormerod, reported a strange smell in her parents’ room at the hotel hours before they died, The Mail on Sunday reported. The room has been sealed off amid safety checks.

Previous guests have complained about suffering food poisoning and other health problems while staying at the hotel.

Mr Cooper died in their room on August 21 while his wife died a few hours later after she was taken to hospital. Their deaths were initially described as being from natural causes by the Egyptian authorities but officials are now carrying out further tests.

Mrs Ormerod said she had noticed a strange smell in her parents’ first- floor bedroom. Her daughter had wanted to sleep in her grandparents’ room that night but changed her mind because of the smell. A source said: ‘ There was a fumigation of the room next door. Some of these places use pretty heavy duty stuff and chemicals which are allowed in Egypt but banned in Europe.’

The Daily Mail revealed on Saturday that Mrs Sonnex, who was ‘fit and healthy’, became violently ill and died after she and her husband noticed a ‘strong smell’ in their room in a different Thomas Cook hotel in Egypt in April.

The grammar school teacher and her husband Clive Eversfield, 59, from Ramsgate, Kent, both fell ill with vomiting and diarrhoea in their room at the five-star Royal Tulip Hotel in Marsa Alam. The cause of death was found by a coroner to be unascertained. Thomas Cook said: ‘Thomas Cook remains committed to do everything we can to get to the bottom of what happened to Mr and Mrs Cooper.

‘It would be inappropriate to comment further until the Egyptian authorities complete their investigation and the autopsy findings are known.’

‘Investigating what happened’