Daughter asks for time to grieve at inquest for Britons who died at Egypt hotel

The tearful daughter of a British couple who died at a hotel in Egypt has asked for time to “grieve” for her loss as the inquests into her parents’ deaths was opened and adjourned.

Kelly Ormerod, 40, said she was preparing for the funerals on Wednesday of John and Susan Cooper, in their home town of Burnley.

They died suddenly on August 21, after becoming ill while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Ms Ormerod attended the brief hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court where James Adeley, senior coroner for Blackburn with Darwen, passed on his condolences as the inquests were opened and adjourned until a date to be fixed.

Outside court Ms Ormerod said: “All I would like to say is thank you very much for all the support I have received.

“At the moment now I have got to go home and prepare for a funeral tomorrow.

“If you would kindly leave me be, leave my family be, and let us grieve and get the grieving process on the way, and I am prepared to speak at a later date.”

A brief chronology of events was given in court with Dr Adeley explaining that as the deaths occurred outside the UK he could only make “requests” for information from the authorities in Egypt.

Forensic examinations carried out by authorities in Egypt reported the cause of deaths as being linked to E.coli bacteria, although this was dismissed by Ms Ormerod last week.

Dr Adeley said through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office he would be requesting all relevant reports and documentation from a long list of public bodies in Egypt and from Thomas Cook.

But he warned that requests to foreign countries “can take months, even years”.