The daughter of a British couple who died at a hotel in Egypt has told Sky News she believes “something suspicious” caused their deaths.
In her first interview since parents John and Susan Cooper passed away at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the popular resort town of Hurghada, Kelly Ormerod said they were “in perfect health” just hours before they fell ill.
She said they had been fit and well before going back to their room at around 1.30am on Tuesday, but had become “extremely ill” by the time she next saw them less than 10 hours later.
“They had no illness, no stomach upset, no vomiting, no illness whatsoever – they were in perfect health when they went to bed,” said the mother-of-three.
“We went for a family meal together, I went back to the hotel room with the children, and the last time I saw my mother and father was at 1.30am in the evening.
“We said ‘good night, have a good night’ and we went to bed.
“When we woke up, my mum hadn’t come down to sit on the sunbeds so I went to knock on the door and saw that they were both very unwell.
“It was about 11am when I went to the bedroom. They said they were extremely ill and need help.”
Mr and Mrs Cooper, 69 and 63, had been staying in a different room in a different block of the hotel to their daughter and three grandchildren, who all remain at the hotel.
They will be moving to another resort in Hurghada, along with hundreds of other Thomas Cook customers, amid reports of a “raised level of illness among guests”.
Others have instead chosen to travel home early.
Hotel general manager Dieter Geiger has strongly denied there was “an increased incidence of illness” at the resort, and claimed that a doctor’s preliminary report had indicated that the Coopers died of natural causes.
Thomas Cook has said there is no evidence to suggest that carbon monoxide poisoning was behind the deaths.
Ms Ormerod said she was convinced “something had happened” to them.
“I watched them die before my very eyes and they had exactly the same symptoms,” she added.
“I believe something suspicious has gone on. I don’t believe anyone has entered the room, but something has happened in that room and caused them to be taken away from us.”
Medical assistance was called to the room, but Mr Cooper could not be saved and Mrs Cooper died after being taken to hospital by ambulance.
Ms Ormerod is now awaiting the results of the post-mortems, which are being carried out in Egypt.
“You read about things like this in the newspaper and you never think it will happen to you,” she said.
“I have to stay strong for my children and the grieving process will happen when I return home.”
The family are due to return home to Burnley on Monday, but are hoping to fly back sooner.
Ms Ormerod told Sky News she was hoping to receive an update on the investigation or post-mortems on Saturday.
From – SkyNews