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Hundreds of British tourists were being evacuated from a hotel in Egypt today after a "fit and healthy" British couple were found dead in their room.

The daughter of John and Susan Cooper, from Burnley, Lancashire, who died at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada, said her parents were "fit and healthy" with "no health problems at all" prior to their holiday.

Kelly Ormerod was on a break with her parents and three children when tragedy struck.

Mr Cooper, 69, died in his room. Mrs Ormerod said her 63-year-old mother, a Thomas Cook employee, then died in an ambulance en route to hospital.

She said the family were in "utter shock" as they awaited results of post-mortem examinations on the couple, who had booked the holiday with Thomas Cook.

In a statement to Lancashire-based radio station 2BR, Mrs Ormerod said: "As a family we are devastated. Mum and Dad meant the world to me and the children, and we are in utter shock over what has happened and what is happening.

"Prior to going on holiday, Mum and Dad were fit and healthy. They had no health problems at all.

"What I want is to clear up some of what is being reported. We have no cause of death, a post-mortem is under way.

"Dad never went to hospital - he died in the hotel room in front of me. I went to hospital in the ambulance with Mum, where she passed away.

"Thomas Cook have been amazing, we have support from the company and I can't praise them enough for what they've done.

"My focus is on getting my children home. All we want is answers about what has happened and a cause of death.

"I'd also like to thank people at home for their messages of love and support during this horrendous ordeal."

Janette Rawlingson was one of those staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel.

She has been on holiday there with her two children, aged eight and 11.

Speaking to the Victoria Derbyshire programme, she said: “We’ve been told that they don’t know what’s happened to the guests at al.

“We’re very worried about eating or drinking in the hotel. I’ve had an upset stomach overnight.

“Only because of my persistence they went to a supermarket two get my two children some food because I didn’t want them eating in the restaurant, because basically they don’t know what’s happened at all.

“Everybody is really worried.

“The lack of answers from Thomas Cook is really disappointing.

“We flew out on Tuesday which is the day these poor, poor people passed away and I must say I’m really sorry about what happened.

“I think we should have been given the option whether to come or not to come and we would have not.

“We’ve saved hard for a summer holiday for the family.”

She said that they considered the option of moving to another hotel but instead will be flying back to the UK.

She said: “We’d rather have a full refund, start again and have another holiday. But we wouldn’t book through Thomas Cook.”

Thomas Cook announced that all its holidaymakers would be removed from the hotel as a precaution and would be offered alternative hotels within Hurghada from Friday onwards, as well as giving them the option to return home.

A spokesman said: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two of our customers that 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."

The spokesman added on Thursday: "For those customers who choose to come home, we have made arrangements to fly them back tomorrow, August 24.

"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 audited by Thomas Cook in late July 2018 and received an overall score of 96%.

"We will be contacting those customers due to travel to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada in the next four weeks to offer alternative holiday options."

The listing for the hotel on the Thomas Cook website includes a line saying: "Sorry, there is currently no availability."