Travel firm is still barred from John and Susan Cooper’s room at Hurghada Aqua Magic hotel

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Egypt has promised there will be no cover-up over the sudden deaths of John and Susan Cooper at a Red Sea resort hotel, as Thomas Cook, their tour operator, remained barred from accessing the room where they became ill.

Mostafa Madbouly, the country’s prime minister, assured the company and the British ambassador in Cairo that it would “leave no stone unturned” and promised the results of all tests on food, water and air conditioning systems at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic hotel in Hurghada would be made public.

Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive, sought the assurances of Madbouly and Rania al-Mashat, Egypt’s tourism minister, in a meeting on Wednesday in Cairo following statements by Egyptian authorities in the immediate aftermath of the deaths last week, suggesting there was nothing untoward.

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The governor of the Red Sea district, Ahmed Abdullah, originally announced the deaths on Facebook under the heading: “Normal death of an English old man and his wife.” He highlighted the pills found in their room suggesting the couple, from Burnley, had chronic illnesses.

Dr Maged Eladawy, the head of Hurghada hospital, claimed Sue Cooper, 63, had died “of grief”.

Autopsies will not be concluded until next week, al-Mashat said. The couple’s bodies will then be flown back to Britain.

Several guests at the hotel reported severe gastric problems and complained of being served raw meat and drinks from dirty glasses. One guest reported breathing difficulties, severe headaches and fluid on the lungs.

An Egyptian prosecutor has said an inspection of the Coopers’ room showed “all equipment was sound and that there was no leakage or emission of any poisonous or harmful gases”. Abdullah later said there was a strange odour in the room, after reports from Kelly Ormerod, the Coopers’ daughter, who had been with them the night before they died and used perfume to cover up the smell.

The tour operator’s investigators are yet to be allowed into the couple’s room and this is not expected to be possible for another few days.

“All the details of the investigation will be shared in full transparency and available to all for scrutiny,” al-Mashat said. “It is crucial … we get to the bottom of the matter and determine the truth based on evidence”.

The British embassy in Cairo said: “We hope that a thorough and transparent investigation will provide answers for the family as soon as possible.”