Thomas Cook Evacuates All Its Customers From Egyptian Hotel After Woman, 63, ‘Dies From Grief’ Hours After Her Husband, 69, Was Killed by a Heart Attack During Their ‘Holiday of a Lifetime’ There

Thomas Cook has removed all its customers from a hotel in Egypt where one of its employees ‘died of grief’  – hours after her husband was killed by a heart attack on a ‘trip of a lifetime’ holiday.

Susan Cooper, 63, and her husband John Cooper, 69, were on a Thomas Cook holiday at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in the Red Sea resort town of Hurghada.

Mr Cooper, who ran his own building company in their hometown of Burnley, Lancashire had a heart attack and was rushed to hospital where he died on Tuesday.

Mrs Cooper, a long-serving Thomas Cook employee, died ‘of grief’ just hours later, said Dr Maged Eledawy, the head of Hurghada Hospital.

Thomas Cook said in a statement: ‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two of our customers who were staying in the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt. The circumstances of their deaths are still unclear. We have also received further reports of a raised level of illness among guests. Safety is always our first priority, so as a precautionary measure we have taken a decision to remove all our customers from this hotel.

‘We will be offering customers alternative hotels within Hurghada, as well as giving them the option to return home. For those customers who choose to come home, we have made arrangements to fly them back tomorrow, 24 August. While we understand this is upsetting for those on holiday, we believe this is the right thing to do.’

We continue to work closely with the hotel and are supporting the authorities with their investigations. The Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel was last…