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, England, died while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel. They were on a holiday 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 her 63-year-old mother, a Thomas Cook employee, was taken to 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.”
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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.”
The decision to evacuate 301 holiday makers from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel is a “precautionary measure,” the company said, adding that the guests, of various nationalities, will be offered alternative hotels or the option to return home.
“We continue to work closely with the hotel and are supporting the authorities with their investigations,” it said. Customers due to arrive in the hotel in the next four weeks will be offered alternative options.
The Steigenberger Aqua Magic was last audited by Thomas Cook in July and received an overall score of 96 percent.