Brit couple die hours apart after room develops ‘yeasty smell’ on Egypt holiday
A relaxing family holiday turned into an unimaginable tragedy after a husband and wife both fell gravely ill while staying at a luxury hotel in Egypt.
John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan, 63, died hours apart after both falling ill at the five-star all-inclusive Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, Hurghada, close to the Red Sea. Five years after the tragic incident in 2018, the couple’s family are hoping answers during an inquest at Blackburn Town Hall this week.
On the day's first hearing on November 7 the pair's daughter Kelly Ormerod, 46, said her parents were fit and healthy when they left their home in Burnley to travel to the resort in August 2018, reports LancashireLive. James, a builder, enjoyed sport and shooting while Susan competed in a Tough Mudder competition the year before she died.
The happy couple were on holiday with their family when they died (Andy Stenning / Sunday Mirror)But on August 21, 2018, both suffered severe diarrhoea and vomiting and later died. The couple’s granddaughter Molly Ormerod, now 18, who was sharing a room with her grandparents at the time said it had developed a ‘strong yeasty smell’ after the air conditioning unit was adjusted the day before. In the early hours of August 21, Molly, then 12, asked to be taken to her mum, who was sharing a room with her younger siblings.
The tragic incident happened at the five-star Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel near the Red Sea (mirror.co.uk)She had been suffering an upset stomach and said the smell in her grandparents room was making her feel sick. When John dropped Molly at the room, at around 1am, Kelly said he appeared fine and showing no signs of illness. Molly went straight to sleep and recovered over the next few days, she said.
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However the following morning Kelly went to check on her parents when they did not go down for breakfast. James answered the door, wearing a towel wrapped around his waist. He was unsteady on his feet and stumbled back into the room before slumping on the single bed. Susan was sprawled in the double bed groaning, Kelly said.
John worked as a builder (Andy Stenning / Sunday Mirror)
Susan competed in a Tough Mudder event in 2017 (Andy Stenning / Sunday Mirror)Giving evidence, Kelly described a chaotic scene as two doctors tried to help her parents. Family friends also tried to assist the couple, who were deteriorating rapidly. An ambulance was called but the family were told it would take a long time to come as it was a religious holiday.
Rachel Hogan, a nursing associate who had travelled with the group, took over CPR and tried to save John’s life. She said she was asking for a defibrillator, oxygen and an ambulance, but all were slow to arrive. Mr Cooper died in the hotel room at around noon and Mrs Cooper was transferred to hospital. She died there at 4pm the same day.
Other family members on the holiday also fell ill at the time (Andy Stenning / Sunday Mirror)Fellow guests at the hotel said they saw the neighbouring room to the Cooper’s being treated for bed bugs on August 20. Three men were seen entering the room with canisters before sealing up the door with masking tape as they left.
Other members of the Cooper's holiday group also developed stomach upsets, with two of the party requiring medicine from their GPs when they returned to the UK. Molly told the hearing that following her grandparent’s deaths she saw two men carrying what looked like an air conditioning unit to the room and that when she returned to collect her belongings it smelled like fresh paint.
Kelly said: “Dad was, for his age, a young man. He was extremely active, bubbly and personable. Mum was an extremely fit and healthy person and the healthiness she had on the inside she liked to portray on the outside.”
Lancashire Coroner James Adeley will reach a conclusion on how Mr and Mrs Cooper died on November 8.
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