Luxor4u

Apparently the drug mule as you call her Dr has had "Her Ass Kicked"

Are you sure Who it doesn't seem like five minutes bet it feels a little longer to her.

Major Thom wrote:Apparently the drug mule as you call her Dr has had "Her Ass Kicked"

Once again the 'forces of law & order have left me wandering as to what the f*ck they are on about ?
Any chance of an explanation, elucidation of her 'ass being kicked ?
Or is it secret or is it 'cause I ain't a mason? Or Is this a need to know question ?......
A Confused pensioner Rtd Tunbridge Wells:

It is as if Egypt is cursed. TOURISM in Luxor and Aswan has heavily declined. Places like Hurghada and Sharm have thrived. Now Hurghada is struck a blow. People are leaving rather than just change Hotel. Because they are being left in the dark they run scared. It has been suggested food hygiene is the problem. Meat served almost raw meat not having met hygiene standards. When things are left to peoples imaginations they fear the worst. One person dying is bad enough. Two then causes panic fearful of an epidemic. Another plague on Egypt.

This seems to be the new style of life in Egypt I am afraid! It's almost like someone has thrown a black out cover over the whole Country, it will never survive until someone realises this is not the way forward.

Adamantium wrote:It is as if Egypt is cursed. TOURISM in Luxor and Aswan has heavily declined. Places like Hurghada and Sharm have thrived. Now Hurghada is struck a blow. People are leaving rather than just change Hotel. Because they are being left in the dark they run scared. It has been suggested food hygiene is the problem. Meat served almost raw meat not having met hygiene standards. When things are left to peoples imaginations they fear the worst. One person dying is bad enough. Two then causes panic fearful of an epidemic. Another plague on Egypt.

A tad hysterical. 150 or so TC guests left the hotel and flew home...a drop in the ocean.

Food poisoning issues are hardly news where Egypt is concerned. And , with the whiff of compensation in the air, you can expect a number to elevate the seriousness of their gippy tummy.

The cause of the deaths is far from determined. There seems to be more attention being given to the possibility of gas poisoning in room...leaking freon for example from fridge or AC. Who knows.....

There's no indication at present of any long term effect on tourism numbers to Hurghada or Egypt generally.

newcastle wrote:.

The cause of the deaths is far from determined. There seems to be more attention being given to the possibility of gas poisoning in room...leaking freon for example from fridge or AC. Who knows.....

.

I have to say, when I first heard mention of a 'strange smell' in the room, my mind turned to a possible gas leak from the fridge.

Almost exactly three years ago, I was working in my office when I heard a very feint 'phhhzzz' sound. I didn't really give it much thought as this building makes some interesting noises, especially in the summer when there is no one here. After that, from time to time, over a few days, I kept smelling a very strange smell, but I could not locate its source. Sometimes it seemed to be in the corridor and at other times it seemed as though it was coming through the open window. I then began to feel quite unwell with nausea, headaches that were not my normal type of headache, general lethargy (again beyond my normal ;-) ). I kept the office well ventilated and tried to carry on. The fridge was due for a defrost and clean so I did that and as I switched it off it made a loud gurgle and a hiss. The foul smell came again too. That was when I realised that it was the fridge that had been slowly leaking its gas over a number of days and making me feel so unwell.
Having read up a little since on the subject, I consider myself lucky.

There is very little fresh food in Hurghada (except fish) as there is also no fresh water.
Frozen foods need some serious attention in the kitchen. E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella
If you build a tourist town in the middle of nowhere, then do it properly like over in El Gouna,
And it's only 20 minute from Hurgharda....

Whatever is finally determined to be the cause of these deaths, it will be no bad thing if it results in the Egyptian authorities, tour companies and the hotel industry itself paying more attention to health and safety issues....particularly as far as food is concerned. (Although not confined to that area).

It's long been a joking matter in Egypt but is hardly conducive to the country's efforts to revitalise its tourism industry.

There is one thing by International Law bodies repatriated have to be embalmed previous to being flown, no air company will accept a body that has not been embalmed, so blood tests will not be available back in the UK. Like I said get the tarpaulin's ready!

When it comes to food, I am sure most of it is distributed from Cairo, so it has a long journey often in cool box lorries that really need to be refrigerated lorries. Once they get to a place it's often noticed the goods can be stood on the pavement in high temperatures before being taken indoors or re frozen. You see it everyday in supermarkets in Luxor, and how many times have people gone into supermarkets to find frozen goods not frozen.

Regarding tourism that will take another lifetime to come back, the way they are going about things is putting people off going rather than attracting them. The landlord at our local Taverna told us last night, its only a couple of hours flying time, but it would be the last place I would go, even if they stuffed my butt with gold. So it seems word is all over the world and people are deciding its not the place for them, and especially with families.

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.
Thomas Cook sued over illness at Egyptian hotel before couple died
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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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... sea-resort

Thomas Cook has been ordered to pay £26,000 in compensation and costs to a family struck down with a gastric illness at the hotel in Egypt where a British couple were staying when they died suddenly last week.

Newport county court ruled against the tour operator last month after the Valu family, from south Wales, claimed it was negligent and “provided hotel accommodation which was so unsafe that no reasonable holidaymaker would agree to go on holiday there”.

They alleged that Thomas Cook failed to ensure food and drink was safe for human consumption, free from pathogenic microorganisms and stored, cooked or reheated in a safe manner. They also alleged that they were served raw, undercooked and stale food.

The ruling came four weeks before the deaths of John and Susan Cooper, from Burnley, who were on an all-inclusive package holiday at the same resort in Hurghada. The couple became ill last Monday night and died the following day.

Egyptian authorities originally described the Coopers’ death as “[the] normal death of an English old man and his wife”. They have since confirmed there was a “strange odour” in their room. Experts were analysing the hotel’s air conditioning and ventilation systems, authorities added.

There were reports of a spate of sickness at the hotel. Other families said they had experienced severe stomach illnesses, and claimed they were served raw chicken and given drinks from dirty glasses.
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One guest reported that diarrhoea was so uncontrollable people defecated in the swimming pool on three separate occasions. Another person had headaches, breathing difficulties and fluid on the lungs, which a British doctor has since said appeared consistent with Legionnaire’s disease, a lung condition that can be carried by contaminated water in air conditioning units.

News of the payout is likely to increase scrutiny of Thomas Cook’s oversight of conditions at the resort, which is operated under a franchise agreement with a German hotel company, Steigenberger. Thomas Cook moved more than 300 customers out of the hotel after the Coopers’ deaths, but said in a statement that it had audited the hotel in late July and it had received an overall score of 96%.

However, five other customers have lodged legal claims against Thomas Cook for illnesses allegedly caused by stays at the hotel this year. The operator said this was a low number for a hotel of its size.

“We audit all 3,000 of our core hotels every year, and our quality teams regularly inspect our properties and provide support, guidance and training to help hotels improve,” the company said.

“We have removed 47 properties for health and safety reasons in the last year alone, and a further 150 which did not meet our strict quality criteria.”

The Valu family launched their case after they had stomach illnesses for about two months, with two weeks of severe symptoms. They emerged during a holiday at the Aqua Magic hotel in April 2016.

Thomas Cook denied responsibility for their illnesses, so the case went to trial. Logs of food temperatures kept in the kitchens of the all-inclusive hotel were disclosed as part of the pre-trial process.

Joanne Brine, a partner at JMW Solicitors who acted for the family, said the logs showed temperatures and dates were all recorded in the same handwriting for a whole month, while they were apparently signed off in several different hands. The records were scrutinised by handwriting experts commissioned by the family’s lawyers. The experts said part of the logs appeared to have been completed by the same person.

“It is very sad to hear of the deaths of John and Susan Cooper on what should have been a happy family holiday, yet also incredibly concerning given our experience with this hotel in regards to hygiene standards,” said Brine.

“The fact that we have brought concerns to Thomas Cook’s attention about the accuracy and reliability of the hotel’s record-keeping should set off alarm bells for those investigating what the failings of the management team to safeguard the health of its guests may have been on this occasion.”

The travel company’s chief executive, Peter Fankhauser, flew to Egypt on Wednesday to discuss the deaths with the country’s prime minister, Mostafa Madbouly.

So far, the Red Sea governate, where the hotel is located, has said John Cooper had “a sudden failure in the heart muscle and respiratory failure”, while his wife died six hours later due to “a drop of blood circulation and respiratory functions with no criminal suspicions”. Egyptian authorities have sealed the room where Cooper died and Fankhauser is expected to press to gain access for Thomas Cook investigators.

Steigenberger did not comment on the Valus case. In a statement about the Coopers, it said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death. All of our thoughts are with the family. In addition to our full support of the authorities, the tour operator and the franchise partner, we are highly engaged in running our own investigations.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/ ... ple-deaths

Interesting information you have here Assade, I can also add to this which has just come off the Reuters tape here in London.

Apparently it appears that all though Mr John Cooper was retired, his wife Susan was in fact employed, you are not going to believe this, but,..........by Thomas Cook travel agency. Pressure was brought upon the chief executive of the company Mr Peter Fankhauser to act, and yes, yesterday the s*** really did hit the fan. Within 24 hours the whole incident has been taken out of the powers of the local governor, and is now in the hands of the attorney general. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the meeting with the Egyptian Tourism Minister.

The results of the postmortem will be given early next week. There is also other info coming out that I'm not too sure of so will not comment, just I case some retired old school mistress brings out a red marker pen, simply because she can not believe what is new evidence, and would rather live in the past.

A-Four wrote:Interesting information you have here Assade, I can also add to this which has just come off the Reuters tape here in London.

Apparently it appears that all though Mr John Cooper was retired, his wife Susan was in fact employed, you are not going to believe this, but,..........by Thomas Cook travel agency. Pressure was brought upon the chief executive of the company Mr Peter Fankhauser to act, and yes, yesterday the s*** really did hit the fan. Within 24 hours the whole incident has been taken out of the powers of the local governor, and is now in the hands of the attorney general. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the meeting with the Egyptian Tourism Minister.

The results of the postmortem will be given early next week. There is also other info coming out that I'm not too sure of so will not comment, just I case some retired old school mistress brings out a red marker pen, simply because she can not believe what is new evidence, and would rather live in the past.

'...which has just come off the Reuters tape here in London.'

If that is the case then Reuters tape must have got stuck somewhere on its way.

'... Susan [Cooper] was in fact employed, you are not going to believe this, but,..........by Thomas Cook travel agency.'

It was made known very early on that Susan Cooper worked for Thomas Cook in one of their Travel Agents.

Just to confirm what I wrote above, BENNU posted the following last Friday the 24th August.

BENNU wrote:https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... y-in-egypt

Holidaymakers to be evacuated from hotel in Egypt following couple's death
Concerns over illness prompts Thomas Cook to move guests from Hurghada resort

Thomas Cook holidaymakers are to be evacuated from a hotel in Egypt following the death of a British couple, with the tour operator citing concerns over “a raised level of illness among guests”.

The pair who died while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada were named on Thursday as John and Susan Cooper, aged 69 and 64, from Burnley, Lancashire.

The circumstances of their deaths have not been released and investigations into what happened are continuing.


Thomas Cook said it would be offering customers alternative hotels in Hurghada from Friday onwards, as well as giving them the option to return home.

A spokesman for the tour operator said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of two of our customers that were staying in the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt.

“The circumstances of their deaths are still unclear. We have also received further reports of a raised level of illness among guests. Safety is always our first priority, so as a precautionary measure we have taken a decision to remove all our customers from this hotel.

“The Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel was last audited by Thomas Cook in late July 2018 and received an overall score of 96%. We will be contacting those customers due to travel to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada in the next four weeks to offer alternative holiday options.”

The listing for the hotel on the Thomas Cook website includes a line saying: “Sorry, there is currently no availability.”

Susan Cooper was a long-serving employee of Thomas Cook. The news was broken to staff at the Burnley store in Chancery Walk on Wednesday. The shop was closed the following day as a mark of respect.

Ingo Burmester, the chief of Thomas Cook UK, said: “We are deeply saddened by the deaths of two of our customers while on holiday in Hurghada in Egypt, one of whom was a loyal and long-serving member of our Thomas Cook family.

“Our focus is on fully supporting their loved ones. We are urgently investigating with the hotel and supporting the local authorities.”

The Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in Hurghada, Egypt, and we are in contact with the local tour operator.”

It is not news that she worked for Thomas Cook it was in all the UK TV news on the day of their deaths, the travel agent she worked for had even closed it's doors for several days as a mark of respect.
Edit: You beat me to it

Well let's all look on the Bright -Side:.....

Horus wrote:It is not news that she worked for Thomas Cook it was in all the UK TV news on the day of their deaths, the travel agent she worked for had even closed it's doors for several days as a mark of respect.
Edit: You beat me to it

Yes, I did. I'm now sat here wondering, given how wrong - or badly informed A-Four -was, what it is that he won't comment on. (But I'm not wondering enough to lose sleep over it. )

A-Four wrote: There is also other info coming out that I'm not too sure of so will not comment,...

Ay, lay off, ..............I don't come on here everyday,, like some, and I might not be liked on this forum, by most, but like everyone else here I am human, even though some still believe this is still a friendly place.

Such a peaceful few days on here, then suddenly the claws come out so quickly.

Probably that John Cooper owned a building firm in Burnley, but keep that to yourself