Thomas Cook resort couple ‘in perfect health’ before deaths
Jamie Merrill, Izzy Lyons, Victoria Ward Robert Mendick THE DAUGHTER of a British couple who died on a Thomas Cook holiday in Egypt is convinced their deaths are suspicious.
Kelly Ormerod said her parents had been “in perfect health” before going to bed but then she found them dying in their hotel room the next morning.
Egyptian authorities had initially claimed that John Cooper, 69, from Burnley, Lancs, had died from a heart attack and that his 63-year-old wife Susan had then collapsed with grief.
But Thomas Cook admitted there was “a raised level of illness among guests” at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada and ordered the evacuation of 301 guests.
Meanwhile, a lawyer told The Daily Telegraph he is representing 20 holidaymakers suing Thomas Cook for alleged food poisoning at the resort over a three-year period.
Mrs Ormerod, a mother-of-three who was on holiday with her parents, said: “They had no illness, no stomach upset, no vomiting, no illness whatsoever – they were in perfect health when they went to bed.
“When we woke up, my mum hadn’t come down to sit on the sunbeds so I went to knock on the door and saw they were both very unwell. They said they were extremely ill and needed help. I believe something suspicious has gone on.”
Alison Cope, 44, from Birmingham, who is also staying at the resort, alleged that five members of her family had been ill for about 10 days. “The food is just disgusting, it’s undercooked. So many people have been ill,” she said.
Another guest, who declined to be named, alleged the hotel doctor, chef and food safety manager had a “standup row” in the main buffet restaurant the day after the Coopers had died.
Dieter Geiger, the general manager at the Aqua Magic, dismissed claims of an “increased incidence of illness”, adding: “The doctor’s preliminary report indicates that death was due to natural causes.”
Nick Harris, of law firm Simpson Millar, said that he is representing 20 former guests, including some who had tested positive for salmonella after their return to the UK. He branded the hotel a “repeat offender”, adding: “Thomas Cook is consistently trying to shift the blame on to my clients, claiming they contracted food poisoning elsewhere, over-indulged or drank too much.”
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two of our customers. The circumstances of their deaths are still unclear. We have also received further reports of a raised level of illness among guests.”