Tour company evacuates customers after 2 die in Egypt

CAIRO — Tour operator Thomas Cook is evacuating all of its customers from a hotel in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Hurghada after two Britons died there this week under unclear circumstances.

The move came after John and Susan Cooper, from Burnley in northern England, died while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel. They were on vacation with other family members.

Their daughter, Kelly Ormerod, was with her parents and her three children when tragedy struck.

John Cooper, 69, died in his hotel room while her 63year-old mother, a Thomas Cook employee, was taken to a hospital, Ormerod said from Egypt.

“As a family we are devastated. Mum and Dad meant the world to me and the children, and we are in utter shock over what has happened and what is happening,” Ormerod told a Lancashire-based radio station. “Prior to going on holiday, Mum and Dad were fit and healthy. They had no health problems at all.”

Thomas Cook said in a statement on Thursday that the “circumstances of their deaths are still unclear” and that it has “also received further reports of a raised level of illness among guests.”

The decision to evacuate 301 holiday makers from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel is a “precautionary measure,” the company said.

The Steigenberger Aqua Magic was last audited by Thomas Cook in July and received an overall score of 96 percent.

Speculation over the couple’s death swirled in the media Friday, with some suggesting carbon monoxide poisoning may have been a cause. A later statement by Thomas Cook said that while the company was “aware” of the speculation, there was “no evidence to support this.”

An Egyptian official said that an investigation was still underway but that the deaths were likely due to “natural causes.” He said the prosecution on Friday ordered autopsies after the Coopers’ daughter requested blood analysis on her parents.