Furious Brit reveals Egyptian hotel where Thomas Cook couple mysteriously died previously ‘served him raw chicken on holiday’
Paul Vanstone, 41, was on holiday at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel, in Hurghada with his wife, mum and two kids when four of them were struck down with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea
A BRIT holidaymaker claims he was served raw chicken and struck down with salmonella poisoning during a stay at the Egyptian hotel where a couple died on Tuesday.
Paul Vanstone, 41, was on holiday with his wife, mum and two kids when four of them were struck down with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea.
The Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel, in Hurghada, is where John Cooper, 64, and his wife Susan, also 64, died during a Thomas Cook "holiday of a lifetime".
And another holidaymaker today told how his daughter was still "on her knees with food poisoning" after staying at the hotel.
Paul, from Oxford, shared with The Sun Online gruesome photos showing red raw chicken he claims he was served at the hotel.
He said: "There was a party of six of us that went. My wife was treated for gastroenteritis, my 16-year-old daughter went down with a vomiting and diarrhoea bug and two days before leaving I had really bad stomach cramps and diarrhoea.
- John, 69, and Susan Cooper, 64, died on Tuesday, Aug 21
- The Burnley couple were on holiday at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada with their daughter Kelly and her three children
- John Cooper, a builder, died in a hotel room, while Susan, a Thomas Cook employee, was taken to hospital in an ambulance where she died just hours later
- Their devastated daughter said her parents "died right in front of her"
- Kelly has said her parents were fit and healthy prior to their deaths, and she is in "utter shock" and wants answers about how her parents died
- Officials first insisted the couple died of "natural causes", claiming John had suffered a heart attack - claims Kelly has since disputed
- Thomas Cook announced they were evacuating their 300 holidaymakers at the hotel following further reports of 'raised levels of illness among guests'
- One man reportedly said his 16-year-old daughter is still "on her knees with food poisoning" after falling ill at the Aqua Magic last week
- A colleague of Mrs Cooper said the couple were "on the holiday of a lifetime"
"While we were there we had to complain because we were served raw chicken. I ate that but if that had been my daughter... It was raw, very, very raw."
The dad-of-two said he arrived home on August 6 and went to the doctor where he was diagnosed with high levels of salmonella poisoning.
He later lodged a complaint with Thomas Cook, but said the doctor was unable to confirm exactly what made them all ill.
Paul added: "It could be chicken, it could have been the water, it could have been anything that you can get salmonella from.
"Something's clearly not right there. You expect to get a bit of a dodgy belly for a day or two.
"What we had this time was far worse than we've ever had in Egypt. We've been four or five times.
"It ruined half of the holiday. I had to have two weeks off work when I got back from holiday - it's a nightmare really.
"It's a bit worrying, something is really wrong. It's a shame that something is going wrong there, because it is a very good hotel."
It emerged last night Thomas Cook had removed all its guests from the hotel after reports of a "raised level of illness among guests".
It comes just days after John and Susan, Burnley, passed away while on holiday in front of their daughter Kelly Ormerod.
Meanwhile, one man told his 16-year-old daughter is still "on her knees with food poisoning" after falling ill at the hotel last week.
He said: "She was on holiday with her boyfriend and three other families and many of them became ill.
"We flew her home and she's been extremely ill ever since - her mum's been crying and so worried about her. The Queen Elizabeth hospital confirmed it was food poisoning."
Thomas Cook refused to respond to the food poisoning claims today, but stated the circumstances of John and Susan's deaths were still "unclear".
However, fellow guest Alison Cope, from Birmingham, said she has been at the hotel for two weeks, and five out of seven of her family members have been ill for around 10 days.
The 44-year-old, who flies home on Friday evening, said that other guests had been ill, saying: "The food is just disgusting, it's undercooked. I know so many people have been ill.
"Half the time we don't know what it is and can't eat it because it's raw in the middle. We've spent almost two weeks at a five-star hotel eating bread and chips because we at least know what it is."
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She believes most guests are choosing to fly home rather than move resort and said a woman believed to be the couple's daughter mentioned a faulty air conditioning unit.
Alison said: "A family member of the Coopers mentioned air conditioning when they were very upset.
"I believe it was Kelly - she approached us at the drinks and said 'Are you English?' She was very upset, saying 'It's the air conditioning'. But we just don't know."
Dieter Geiger, General Manager at Aqua Magic, said: "We are deeply saddened by the death. In such a circumstance, very little can be said that will help. This makes it even more important to stick to the facts.
"The doctor’s preliminary report indicates that death was due to natural causes. There are no indications to support allegations of an increased incidence of illness at the hotel.
"Such rash speculations should urgently be put aside out of respect for the family members of the deceased persons and for other guests."
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