Investigation into what killed British couple who died while staying in Egypt hotel could take 'several months'

Susan Cooper, 64, and her husband John Cooper, 69, who have both died during a holiday in Egypt
Olivia Tobin13 September 2018

The UK investigation into what killed a British couple who died on a Thomas Cook holiday in Egypt could take “months”, a senior coroner has warned.

John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan, 64, died after they fell ill while staying in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada during a holiday in late August.

On Thursday, a Home Office pathologist began examining the bodies of Mr and Mrs Cooper, from Burnley.

Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, said: "In view of the concerns raised by this case, analysis and evaluation of the findings at post-mortem and the associated samples may take some weeks or possibly several months to analyse.

"These results will need to be compared with the findings from the Egyptian investigation, when these are available to the Home Office pathologist and the coroner."

John and Susan Cooper were staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt
AP

Egypt's chief prosecutor Nabil Sadek said on Wednesday that forensic examinations showed Mr Cooper suffered acute intestinal dysentery caused by E.coli, and Mrs Cooper, a Thomas Cook employee, suffered a complication linked to infection, likely to have been caused by E.coli.

He said the bodies of the couple from Burnley, Lancashire, who died on August 21, showed "no criminal violence".

Their grieving daughter, Kelly Ormerod, 40, dismissed the claims about e.coli and said she had “no faith” in the authorities in Egypt.

She added that she did not believe e.coli had killed her parents.

Mrs Ormerod, who was staying at the same hotel with her children, said: "I have not seen evidence or facts of any E.coli.

"Thomas Cook put a report out that there were high levels of E.coli at the hotel. Whether the Egyptians have homed in on that, I have no idea.

"But anybody can Google what E.coli symptoms are and the progression of E.coli and it does not kill you within a matter of hours.

"They are either stuck for answers or don't want to tell the truth."

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.

Thomas Cook moved 300 guests out of the hotel 24 hours after the couple died as a precaution.

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 August 21 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."

A spokeswoman for Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, said: "We understand the Public Prosecutor’s report states that e.coli bacteria was responsible for the tragic death of Mr Cooper and is also likely to have caused the tragic death of Mrs Cooper.

“We will continue to work closely with the Egyptian authorities and experts to establish how this could have happened, given that there are a number of independent reports that have raised the issue of where and how the e.coli could have been ingested.

"We have the utmost sympathy for the Cooper family and will do everything we can to assist in any further ongoing investigations and in the forthcoming inquest."

Additional reporting by Press Association

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