Food, water, and air conditioning systems are currently being tested by experts in the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt, where a British couple died under mysterious circumstances, the chief executive officer of leisure travel company Thomas Cook said on Sunday.
Following the incident, the travel company hosting the couple and 301 other holidaymakers, decided to evacuate its guests from the hotel, and announced that they received further reports of a raised level of illness among guests.
However, according to the Associated Press the hotel confirmed that there was no increased level of illness there and attributed the couple’s deaths to “natural causes.”
Moreover, on Sunday, Fankhauser told Britain’s Sky News that the testing of the probes of food, and water, will take 10 days to be complete.
Egypt’s Prosecution on Saturday said that there is no leakage of any poisons or hazardous gases from the air conditioning units in the rooms of the British couple who died suddenly in a Red Sea resort last Tuesday.
The couple’s death occurred as Egypt started to revive its tourism sector, with the recent uptick in foreign arrivals, as well as the expected boost from the resumption of direct flights to and from Russia, one of Egypt’s major sources of international visitors.
Egypt witnessed a significant drop in tourist arrivals following the downing of the Russian plane, already in decline after the 2011 revolution. Consequently, the number of tourist arrivals dropped from 14.7 million individuals in 2010 to 5.4 million by 2016, with annual revenue falling from $12.5bn to $3.8bn.
