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Hurghada hotel deaths: Hygiene tests by German travel giants find nothing abnormal
Tests carried out by tour operators TUI and DER Touristik have shown no harmful levels of e-coli or staphylococci bacteria at the Hurghada Hotel where two Thomas Cook guests mysteriously died.
The German travel giants have given the all-clear to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic, where Thomas Cook said its independent tests showed high levels of the bacteria.
According to reports in Germany, forwarded to TravelMole by the Steigenberger Hotel group, TUI and DER Touristik commissioned their own investigations but came to a different conclusion.
Their tests found ‘no abnormalities’ and neither company has recorded an increased number of illnesses from guests staying at the resort.
Sven Hirschler, senior director corporate communications for the Frankfurt-based hotel group, confirmed that both of the German companies are doing regular hygiene checks on the hotel and continue to send customers there.
He said TUI and DER Touristik account for the largest number of bookings for the resort.
None of its German guests have requested to move and the hotel is currently full, he added.
Thomas Cook, meanwhile, has removed all of its customers from the hotel and has cancelled bookings until January 15 after the results of its investigation.
But it addmitted its tests do not explain the sudden deaths of Susan Cooper, a Thomas Cook travel agent, and her husband John while staying at the hotel last month.
Its independent investigators were denied access to the Cooper’s hotel room, which has remained under the control of the Egyptian authorities due to their ongoing investigation.
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Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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