Egypt prosecutor says e-coli was factor in deaths of British tourists
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s public prosecutor said on Wednesday that e-coli bacteria were a factor in the deaths of two British tourists in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada last month.
FILE PHOTO: A view of the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, Egypt, August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
The prosecutor said John Cooper, 69, was suffering from health problems but that e-coli was a cause of heart failure that led to his death. Cooper’s wife Susan, 63, was also likely to have been affected by e-coli and died of gastroenteritis.
It gave the details in a statement of an official medical report after an investigation into their deaths.
Thomas Cook, which the couple was travelling with, moved 300 customers from the hotel they were staying in, the Steigenberger Aqua Magic, following the deaths on Aug. 21.
The British tour operator had taken note of the prosecutor’s announcement. “We have not yet seen the full report and we will need time for our own experts to review it,” it said in a statement.
Thomas Cook said earlier this month it had found a high level of e-coli and staphylococcus bacteria at the hotel they were staying in.
Local Egyptian officials initially said the Coopers both died of heart attacks, but the public prosecutor ordered an investigation.
Reporting by Haitham Ahmed, Omar al-Fahmy, John Davison; additional reporting by Andy Bruce in London, Editing by John Stonestreet
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