Granddaughter of couple who died in Egypt hotel room pointed out ‘chilling’ detail hours before
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The granddaughter of the British couple who died on holiday after their hotel room next door was 'fumigated' pointed out a 'chilling' detail hours before tragedy struck.
British couple John Cooper, 69, a builder, and his wife Susan, 63, a cashier at a bureau de change in a Thomas Cook travel agent, from Burnley, Lancashire, tragically passed away 21 August 2018.
The pair were staying at an Egyptian resort in Hurghada, the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, when they died leading to an inquest at the Blackburn Coroner's Court.
A coroner has since ruled that the late couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning after the room next door was sprayed with pesticide to kill bed bugs.
John and Susan were holidaying with their daughter, Kelly Ormerod, and their three grandchildren including Molly, who was 12 at the time, during the ordeal.
On the trip, Molly, who is now 18, was sharing a room with her grandparents but had to move into her mum's room after complaining about a 'disgusting smell' at around 1am in the morning of 21 August 2018.
"I thought Molly had eaten something funny," she told The Mirror. "She looked peaky but said the smell of my mum and dad’s room was making her feel sick."
John had walked Molly to Kelly's room and apparently appeared to be 'fine'.
"Dad was fine," Kelly recalled. "I thanked him for bringing Molly, kissed him goodnight and he walked back to his room to go to sleep."
After John and Susan failed to surface the next morning, Kelly went to their room to discover the pair were seriously ill.
She recalled her father came to the door and was 'incredibly unsteady on his feet', and said: "I really don't feel well," while retching.
"He just literally slumped and sat on the corner of the bed and said: 'I’m really not well,'" Ormerod told the hearing.
She recalled: “As soon as he opened the door, I could smell vomit and he was slurring his words. He told me they were feeling rotten. As he walked... it was like watching a bouncy ball. He was walking in a zigzag, pushing himself off the walls."
She also told the hearing her mother was in bed, 'groaning' with vomit in her hair and around the room, where she noticed a strange 'heavy' smell.
Doctors were then called with Kelly continuing: "It took an hour for one to arrive. Both my parents’ breathing had changed. "They couldn’t support their own body weight, so were lying down. The doctor then called for a second medical professional. It was chaos.
"Dad wasn’t moving, he wasn’t talking, he was frozen. Mum wasn’t talking but she was groaning in pain."
While CPR was attempted, Mr Cooper was eventually declared dead on the hotel room floor.
According to the inquest, his wife was then rushed to a clinic at the hotel where she became 'super agitated' and delirious.
She was then taken to hospital by ambulance but was declared dead later that afternoon.
The grieving daughter added: "I still suffer from the trauma of seeing them die in such a dreadful way. Our family is broken without them.
"I’m still in so much pain over the thought their deaths could have been prevented but I’m glad we now finally have the answers.
"We’ve been given closure in the sense that we know how this happened but I don’t feel any better. It should never have happened in the first place."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
