UK couple who died in Egypt suffered illnesses caused by e.coli, tests show
A British couple who died on a Thomas Cook holiday in Egypt suffered illnesses caused by e.coli, tests have found.
Egypt’s chief prosecutor said forensic examinations show John Cooper, 69, suffered acute intestinal dysentery caused by e.coli, and his wife Susan Cooper, 63, suffered a complication linked to infection, likely to have been caused by e.coli.
He said the bodies of the couple from Burnley, Lancashire, showed “no criminal violence”.
Other tests of air and water at the hotel found nothing unusual, he added.
The Coopers died on August 21 while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.
Thomas Cook revealed last week that it had identified a high level of e.coli bacteria at the hotel, which would “explain the raised level of illness reported among guests”.
But the firm said the independent specialists it commissioned to carry out the tests – and Dr Vanya Gant from University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust – did not believe the results “shed any light” on the cause of the Coopers’ deaths on August 21.
Thomas Cook moved 300 guests out of the hotel 24 hours after the couple died as a precaution.
A compensation package for all customers who reported an illness while staying at the hotel during August is being put together by Thomas Cook.
The company has also rolled out a programme of “specialist hygiene assessments” to all its hotels which experience a higher-than-average reported level of sickness.
A Thomas Cook spokesman said: “Thomas Cook notes the announcement today by the Egyptian prosecutor on the results of the autopsies of John and Susan Cooper following their deaths at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic in Hurghada on 21 August 2018.
“We have not yet seen the full report and we will need time for our own experts to review it.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of John and Susan Cooper. We will continue to offer every support to their daughter Kelly and the rest of their family.”
