Maldives: Court finds holiday company not responsible for husband’s death
A woman whose husband drowned on honeymoon has lost her claim for compensation against the company that arranged her holiday.
As reported by News From Abroad, 32-year-old Liza Jones sued Sunworld, now part of JMC Holidays, after her husband John drowned in a lagoon in the Maldives in 1998. She says the company should have warned of “hidden dips” in a lagoon on Fun Island, that appeared to be calm and just waist-deep.
The couple were just two days into their honeymoon when the tragedy took place; they were wading through the lagoon when they fell into a 20-foot “hole” and Mr Jones, who could not swim, drowned.
The woman’s lawyer said a brochure described how holidaymakers could walk safely in the lagoon, telling the judge that the holes were a “hazard” that should have been pointed out to holidaymakers.
However, newspapers this morning report that Mrs Jones “was unable to establish that the defendant is liable to her for her husband’s death”. The judge told her: “In my opinion adult holidaymakers must be taken to know that the seabed is not even and there is nothing unusual about changes in depth.” JMC expressed its regret at the incident.
