Girl of 3 died at Turkish hotel in ‘food bug scare’
A THREE-year-old girl died after falling ill at a Turkish holiday amid concerns about food poisoning, an inquest has heard.
Lily Gibson was taken by her parents to a walk-in medical centre and given painkillers, but she later died.
The tragedy happened last August on a trip booked through Thomas Cook to the Bodrum resort in Mugla, Turkey.
A coroner at a pre-inquest hearing in Sheffield yesterday asked Thomas Cook to provide information about cleanliness and food safety standards at the four-star hotel, a popular destination for British families. The results of a post-mortem examination have not been revealed.
Lawyers representing Lily’s parents – Lisa and Chris Gibson, of Halfway, near Sheffield – reportedly want to investigate whether the child could have contracted a bacterial infection such as E.coli, salmonella or shigella. Mr Gibson told the hearing: ‘We just want to know what’s happened.’
Friends and family have raised more than £4,000 for the Gibsons, with one relative describing the tragedy as ‘the worst possible scenario imaginable’.
The relative said: ‘Without any explanation, a three- year- old beautiful, happy baby girl was taken from a kind, loving family.
‘Lily passed away with absolutely no warning whatsoever and there was no way of preparing for the loss. To lose a child under any circumstances is horrific, to lose a child while on a family holiday when it should be a time of joy and love is hard to even fathom.’ The coroner’s court heard that Lily was taken to a walk-in centre with ‘yellowing’ of the skin – a symptom of jaundice. The parents were given painkillers for her and sent away. Assistant coroner Professor Robert Forrest said there had been a reported anecdotal increase in illnesses at the hotel around the time of the Gibsons’ holiday.
He said: ‘ The evidence of poor food safety at the hotel and the possibility that Lily died as a consequence of a food-related illness provides justification for additional inquiries of Thomas Cook.’
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: ‘We have provided the coroner with all the information we have been able to gather from the hotel and healthcare facilities.’