Tourists evacuated at Egyptian hotel

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 his 63-year-old wife, 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 the Lancashire-based radio station 2BR. “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.”

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.”

On Friday, an official statement by the Red Sea governorate was posted on Facebook, saying a forensic examination of John Cooper, who died on Tuesday, revealed he had suffered acute circulatory collapse and a sudden cardiac arrest.

It also said Susan Cooper was later rushed to hospital after fainting and underwent resuscitation attempts for 30 minutes but died. The statement dismissed criminal motives as being behind the deaths.

A Section on 08/25/2018

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