Inside the Egypt ‘death hotel’ kitchen – where DOZENS of Brits fell ill with food poisoning and elderly couple on ‘holiday of a lifetime’ mysteriously died in their room
THESE photos offer a glimpse inside the kitchen and restaurant of the Egypt hotel where an elderly couple mysteriously died and DOZENS of Brit holidaymakers were ill.
Since news of the couple's sudden death last week, scores of tourists have described being served raw chicken and suffering food poisoning at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic in Hurghada.
These pictures show the food being served to guests at the hotel, as well as images from the kitchen itself where food is prepared.
Among the dishes on offer are veal chops, chicken tikka masala, pasta, potatoes and what appears to be white fish and several types of stew.
John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan, 64, died after falling ill at the hotel last Tuesday.
Their daughter Kelly Ormerod later said she believes they were killed by "something in the room".
Doctors are unable to pinpoint what caused the outbreaks of sickness, but many holidaymakers say their illnesses have been diagnosed as salmonella poisoning - commonly caused by under-cooked food.
Alison Cope, 44, from Birmingham, spent two weeks at the hotel, and five out of seven of her family members were ill for around 10 days.
The 44-year-old 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."
Dale Watson, 38, from Newcastle, said: "Five of us fell ill, we thought it was food poisoning, but no one really knows the truth."
Paul Vanstone, 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.
"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."
Meanwhile, Thomas Cook has promised to work with concerned customers already booked into the hotel for upcoming holidays.
Holidaymakers booked to stay at the hotel, which received a 96 per cent rating in a recent Thomas Cook audit, over the next four weeks are also being offered "alternative holiday options".
The company is contacting every guest due to stay at the hotel for the next month to arrange switching them to a new hotel.
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A spokesperson for Thomas Cook said: "We are aware that a number of customers have come forward to say they have experienced illness while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt.
"We are contacting every Thomas Cook customer that has returned from staying at the hotel since 22 August."
And a spokesperson for Deutsche Hospitality, the company which oversees the Steigenberger hotel franchise, said: "In addition to our full support of the authorities, the tour operator and the franchise partner we are highly engaged in running our own investigations concerning the saddened (sic) tragedy.
"In respect for the family and the investigations of the authorities we cannot comment on statements or pictures at the moment."
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