Death in Paradise
Bodies of three tourists found at luxury Bahamas resort as guest blames faulty air conditioning
‘My dad was everything to me’
THE deaths of three tourists in a luxury Caribbean hotel may have been caused by faulty air conditioning, it was claimed yesterday.
A couple were found dead in one villa shortly after a woman in another woke up unable to move with her husband lying dead on the floor.
The woman – named by her son as Donnis Chiarella – was taken to hospital. The incident took place at the five-star Sandals Emerald Bay resort in the Bahamas and foul play is not suspected. All three were American.
Mrs Chiarella, 64, and the other couple, who have not been named, were reported to have felt ill and sought treatment at a health clinic the day or evening before
they were found dead. Police said there were no signs of trauma and they were awaiting the results of post-mortem examinations, which were expected to establish a cause of death.
A Facebook post by another American guest at the resort, Chris Coucheron-Aamot, speculated that a toxic air conditioning leak could be behind the tragic deaths.
It said: ‘Three of our neighbours in the building right next to us died and a fourth was airlifted in critical condition. It sounds like it may have been a fault with the a/c in the unit, causing a toxic coolant leak.’
Air conditioning units use chemicals that can be toxic if inhaled. Units are designed so that no such gases should leak but faults can occur.
Mrs Chiarella and her husband Vincent, 65, are from Birmingham, Alabama, and were on holiday to celebrate their anniversary. Their son Austin told ABC News his mother woke up on Friday morning to discover ‘she couldn’t move’ and her husband ‘laying on the floor’.
He said: ‘Her legs and arms were swollen and she couldn’t move and she screamed to get someone to come in the door.’
She had fallen ill the day before and visited a local clinic, but was released shortly afterwards, he said. He added: ‘I am just so heartbroken right now. My dad was everything to me.’
Mrs Chiarella was flown by air ambulance to a hospital in the Bahamas before being transferred to a hospital in Florida.
Police were called to the Sandals resort at around 9am on Friday following the discovery of Mr Chiarella’s body. Officers were then told two more guests had been found unresponsive in another villa. The man was found ‘slumped against a wall in a bathroom’ and the woman on a bed, police said.
They had both received treatment at the ‘local medical facility’ the previous evening before returning to their room.
Health minister Dr Michael Darville said some guests received treatment for nausea and vomiting before discharging themselves on Thursday.
He said environmental health scientists were investigating to ensure there was not a public health hazard.
A spokesman for Sandals Resorts International said: ‘It is with deep sadness that we can confirm the passing of three guests at Emerald Bay resort.
‘We are actively working to support both the investigation as well as the guests’ families in every way possible during this difficult time.’