E.coli ‘killed’ British couple in Egypt hotel
A BRITISH couple who died in an Egyptian Red Sea resort were killed by complications resulting from E.coli infection, Egypt’s chief prosecutor said yesterday.
John Cooper, 69, and Susan Cooper, 63, both appeared to be in good health at a hotel in Hurghada hours before they were found dead on Aug 21.
Egyptian authorities said they had completed autopsies and concluded that the couple, from Burnley, had the food poisoning bacteria.
The prosecutor said Mr Cooper died from dysentery “that resulted from E.coli bacteria” and triggered heart problems.
Mrs Cooper died from hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a condition that destroys red blood cells and can cause kidney failure. The prosecutor said it “probably resulted from E.coli”.
The couple’s daughter, Kelly Ormerod, who was staying with them at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel, immediately rejected the Egyptian findings.
“The Egyptians are looking for someone to blame and I don’t believe for one minute that caused their deaths,” she told Sky News. “It is unheard of that someone dies of E.coli in such a short space of time.”
Mrs Ormerod called for separate autopsies in the UK.
Thomas Cook conducted its own investigation at the hotel in the days after the Coopers’ deaths and found “a high level of E.coli” in food had caused widespread illness among tourists.
However, the travel agency said last week that it did not believe E.coli was a factor in the deaths.
A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: “We have not yet seen the full report and we will need time for our own experts to review it. We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of John and Susan Cooper. We will continue to offer every support to their daughter Kelly and the rest of their family.”
The earlier Thomas Cook investigation also found no problems with air or water quality. Experts hired by the firm found “no evidence of carbon monoxide and normal carbon dioxide levels in the vicinity of the room”.
The Egyptian prosecutor said the bodies showed no sign of “criminal violence”. Authorities said they had also tested for poisoning and radiation but the tests had come back negative.
Egyptian authorities initially claimed the couple died of heart attacks.
Rania al-mashat, Egypt’s tourism minister, said the new E.coli findings were “medically determined by a team of internationally accredited pathologists”. She said she hoped, for the family’s sake, that they would “put an end to previous speculative suggestions”.
Mrs Ormerod said her parents were “in perfect health” at dinner the night before their deaths. She grew concerned when they did not come down for breakfast the next day and found her father already dead in their room. Her mother died in hospital soon after.
The tourism industry in Egypt has been struggling since the 2015 bombing of a Russian jet flying from Sharm el-sheikh.
The UK suspended flights to the Red Sea resort in response to the attack, which was blamed on Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.