Family of British couple found dead in Egypt hotel face 10-day wait for test results
John and Susan Cooper's daughter says there is 'something suspicious' behind the deaths
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Food, water and air conditioning systems at a hotel in Egypt where a British couple died under mysterious circumstances are being tested in an attempt to establish the cause of death.
John and Susan Cooper died at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada on Thursday.
The couple’s daughter, Kelly Ormerod, said she thought there was “something suspicious” behind the deaths, because her parents had been in perfect health hours before they died.
She said Mr Cooper died in his room, and Ms Cooper, a Thomas Cook employee, died after she was taken to the hospital.
The couple’s family will “hopefully” find out the results of the tests in 10 days, the chief executive of Thomas Cook said as he promised to do everything to “get to the bottom of it.”
Peter Fankhauser told Sky News: “We have no real evidence what caused the deaths, but what I can promise is at Thomas Cook we are doing everything to support the family and to support the Egyptian authorities... to get to the bottom of it and to get to the cause.
“There is no evidence that it is a carbon monoxide poisoning. We have no evidence but I don’t want to rule out anything before I really know the cause.”
Mr Fankhauser continued: “Twenty-four hours after the couple died, we had our specialists... in the hotel. They took probes of the food, of the hygienic systems, of water, as well as the air conditioning systems, and all those probes are now in Egypt.
“They are now examining and testing the probes and we support them in doing that, but that takes about 10 days.”
A technical team’s inspection of the Coopers’ room showed there were no toxic or harmful gas emissions or leaks, according to a statement by prosecutor Nabil Sadeq on Saturday.
It also said his office was waiting for a forensic analysis of samples taken from the bodies.
Mr Fankhauser said Thomas Cook decided to move 300 guests out of the hotel 24 hours later as a precaution after becoming aware of an “increased number” of illnesses.
He confirmed that 13 customers had food poisoning but were not in a serious condition.
The chief executive told ITV Thomas Cook had learned “hard lessons” over its health and safety systems following the deaths of two children in Corfu.
He said: “We have taken hard lessons on our health and safety systems and we are a totally different company to three years ago.”
Christi and Bobby Shepherd died from carbon monoxide poisoning in a Thomas Cook holiday bungalow in 2006.
A 2015 inquest jury concluded the tour operator breached its duty of care over their deaths.
Egypt’s tourism industry has been dealt severe blow due to political turmoil which followed the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Hosni Mubarak.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments