The bodies of a honeymoon couple who died while celebrating their marriage in the Dominican Republic have been released by the local authorities and will be returned to the Netherlands as soon as possible.

Jeroen Venema (31) and Michou de Graaf (28) died in hospital 10 days ago after falling ill in their hotel in the Punta Cana area on Saturday night. The pair had spent the day on a trip to a nature reserve before dining in their hotel.

The cause of their deaths remains a mystery. A spokesman for the Dutch foreign ministry said the autopsy report had been given to the family. ‘We do not know the contents. It is up to the relatives to decide whether or not to make it public,’ the spokesman said.