Daughter of Brit couple who died in Egypt blasts Thomas Cook and says she’ll leave no stone unturned to uncover what really killed her parents
John and Susan Cooper died in August last year, and their daughter Kelly Ormerod still doesn't know what happened to them
THE devastated daughter of a Brit couple who mysteriously died on holiday in Egypt has vowed to leave “no stone unturned” as she desperately tries to uncover what killed her parents.
Kelly Ormerod, 40, lost her mum and dad John and Susan Cooper within four hours of each other while on a £6,500 five-star Thomas Cook break in August last year.
This week, a pre-inquest hearing at Preston Coroner's Court heard that toxic chemicals or a biological agent in their room may have killed the couple, who were staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada.
Mum-of-three Kelly, of Burnley, Lancs, had previously thought carbon monoxide poisoning could be to blame.
Initially, officials said John had died of a heart attack and his wife from a broken heart. There was also speculation there deaths were caused by carbon monoxide poisoning or food poisoning, with authorities later suggesting the couple had suffered respiratory failure.
E. coli and a bacteria linked to toxic shock syndrome were also named, but after British post-mortem tests proved inconclusive Kelly still has no answers.
“I want no stone unturned to get to the truth,” she told The Sun Online.
“These deaths should have been prevented. The Egyptian authorities or Thomas Cook could have prevented them happening.
“Thomas Cook have had bad press in the past and I don’t think they have learned any lessons.
“Was the hotel inspected correctly and are the people who do it up to the necessary standard? I think better procedures need to be in place. It should never have happened.
“If there’s evidence of wrongdoing there should be a police investigation.
“And if somebody is to blame for my parents’ deaths they should be prosecuted.”
'I could have lost my daughter too'
John, 69, and his 63-year-old wife had been fit and healthy before their holiday.
They were staying in a room with Kelly’s 12-year-old daughter Molly, and when they returned to it after a buffet dinner on August 20 they noticed an acetone-type smell.
It was strong enough that Molly decided not to sleep in the room, saying it was making her feel unwell.
The following morning Kelly went to check on her parents when they didn’t come down for breakfast, and when John opened the door she realised he was ill.
He was clammy and had glazed eyes so she immediately called a doctor, but nothing could be done in time and John collapsed and died in the room. Thomas Cook employee Susan passed away hours later.
“I didn’t really know much about the smell until Molly mentioned it,” Kelly recalls.
“If Molly hadn’t moved rooms I probably would have lost a daughter as well my parents.”
The tragedy has been hard enough for Kelly to cope with, but her grief has been compounded by a lack of support and help from authorities – she is struggling to accept that, nine months on, she still doesn’t know why her parents died.
Now, Kelly wants answers from Egyptian authorities and holiday company Thomas Cook.
'There was something in that room'
The pre-inquest hearing heard that British authorities still have not received all the necessary medical and other reports from the Egyptian authorities to definitively establish the cause of death.
A Public Health England (PHE) report from Dr Nick Gent suggests neither radiation or natural causes caused the couple’s deaths, although food poisoning has not been completely ruled out.
It said that they were most likely caused by exposure to an “infectious biological agent or toxic chemicals”.
Findings also strongly suggested that “significant exposure to carbon monoxide” was to blame.
“When my parents died I initially believed it was carbon monoxide poisoning,” Kelly says.
“But the Thomas Cook representative who flew over after my parents died told me, ‘Don’t be silly, it’s not that. It can’t possibly be that.’
“So I was shocked to learn at the hearing that carbon monoxide may have caused their deaths.
“It’s got be something in that room that killed them."
Although desperate for answers, Kelly has found the inquest process hard. She’s struggled to keep her emotions in check, especially because of some of the things she’s heard.
She heard that her parents had reported “an issue” with their air-conditioning, and hotel records show that housekeeping had been called to their room at least three times on the day before they died.
“We just don’t know what happened," she says.
"All we know is there was an issue with the air-conditioning, somebody’s been in to rectify something and the day after my parents died.”
No answers, no help
Kelly also wonders if the fumigation of an adjacent room may have had something to do with the tragedy. A German tourist, believed to have been in the room next door, checked in and immediately checked out.
“There was a connecting door between my mum and dad’s room and that room,” she says.
“So further tests may well show that whatever chemicals were used shouldn’t have been used.
“Something has been circulating in their room that’s toxic.”
Kelly is furious that she’s had so little information from Thomas Cook and the Egyptian authorities.
But it’s not just her who is struggling to get answers - coroner Dr James Adeley has requested further documents so a full inquest can be heard, and the government has made 13 unsuccessful attempts to obtain documents from Egypt, including meetings involving the country's ministers of foreign affairs and tourism.
“The Egyptians are probably frightened of the damage that bad publicity could do to tourism and I’m told the owner of the hotel - Hamed El Chiaty - is very influential and has some friends in very high places," Kelly says.
“But this was supposed to be a happy, family holiday for all of us.
Insufferable pain
“Instead it became a nightmare.
“If the Egyptian authorities have any compassion or humanity they should help the coroner find out what happened."
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: “Our deepest condolences remain with Kelly Ormerod and her family after the tragic deaths of her mum and dad, John and Susan Cooper last year.
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“Susan was a valued Thomas Cook employee who was much-loved by colleagues, particularly in the branch she worked at in Burnley.
“It’s clear that a number of important questions remain unanswered surrounding the circumstances of their deaths.
We are cooperating fully with the Coroner’s investigation and the Steigenberger Aqua Magic remains off sale to any of our customers, from the UK and the rest of Europe, indefinitely.
“We continue to offer support to Kelly Ormerod and her family.”
A further pre-inquest hearing will be held later this year.