At once, two families of foreign tourists were collectively poisoned in an Egyptian hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh with a break of only two months – severe symptoms of intoxication turned into a threat close to death for them. This was reported by the British newspaper Express.
It was clarified that the British family of four bought a ticket from the TUI tour operator and went on vacation to the Jaz Mirabel Park Hotel to celebrate the birthday of one of them. They spent time there from July 4 to 11. The symptoms appeared immediately after returning from a holiday in the UK. Half of the family, 50-year-old mother Jane Hughes and her 7-year-old son, were hospitalized. The woman was diagnosed with salmonella and kidney damage, the symptoms were nausea, diarrhea, high fever, and hallucinations. The child’s symptoms were not reported.
It did not end there. Four months later, the tourist still had stomach problems. “When I remember the trip, I remember the buffet, the dishes there always remained open, and new ones were added on top of the existing ones. There were often flies buzzing around, and I saw how many people took everything with their hands and did not use utensils. I’m still not well and I know I can’t change what happened, but I feel I deserve to know what happened to us because I got so seriously ill,” she said.
International serious injury lawyers Irwin Mitchell said at least two families are accusing a Sharm el-Sheikh hotel of serious poisoning.
A second family vacationed at the hotel two months earlier — a 7-year-old boy from Great Britain nearly died after suffering severe food poisoning. Ethan McNally-Roberts and his 42-year-old parents Natalie and John went on holiday to Sharm El Sheikh on May 20. They stayed at the Jaz Mirabel Beach Hotel. It is known that this was the first trip abroad for the child. On the evening of the first day, the man started vomiting and had diarrhea, and his wife and child fell ill for five days. Ethan ended up in the intensive care unit in Sharm el-Sheikh. He had a seizure where he gasped and stopped breathing, meaning he had to be resuscitated. A few days later, the boy and his family were sent to Great Britain, where they were admitted to a hospital in Bristol. The boy still needs regular monitoring of kidney function.
An excerpt from a traveler’s story about an unfortunate vacation in an Egyptian hotel: “It was Ethan’s first vacation abroad, and we were all very excited. In a few days, we all got sick. When Ethan was sick, our hearts broke, and when his condition worsened, we knew we had to take him to the hospital. What we had been through was nothing short of traumatic and John and I were terrified that Ethan might die. No parent should have to go through what we went through. Rehabilitation and return to normal will take years. Sometimes we were not even allowed into the hospital in Egypt to visit him. It was awful.
As a result, we had to stay longer in Egypt than we had planned, and John and Ethan had to travel home separately in the ambulance. Leaving them in Egypt was one of the hardest things I had to do, knowing how Ethan’s condition continued to deteriorate. It was such a relief when they got home, but even then Ethan had to continue his treatment and stay in a hospital in Bristol for about a week. To this day, he is still ill and requires regular monitoring due to kidney damage.
He recently turned eight and the effects of his treatment in Egypt are still affecting him psychologically, which breaks my heart. He is truly our hero for how he coped with everything he had to endure. I wish we could turn back time and not go to Egypt, but alas, that is not possible. While we can’t change anything, what we’ve been through is unacceptable and we demand answers.”
Hannah Clifford, a specialist international serious injury lawyer representing victims, commented: “All our clients have been saving up for a holiday and couldn’t wait to go to Egypt. However, their dream trips turned into nightmares after they were hit with stomach symptoms.
In both cases, she said, the situation got worse and worse, requiring inpatient treatment. For example, doctors diagnosed kidney damage. “The effects of stomach ailments should never be underestimated, as they can potentially lead to serious illness, as was the case here. Our customers understandably have several questions and concerns about how they became ill and we are currently investigating them. We are determined to help them get the answers they deserve,” she concluded.