Brit tourists at luxury hotel where girl, 3, died hit with diarrhoea and dizzy spells ‘after eating fly-covered food’
BRIT tourists staying at a luxury hotel where a three-year-old girl died have been hit with diarrhoea and dizzy spells after eating fly-covered food, it is claimed.
Lily Gibson passed away last summer during a Thomas Cook break at the Bodrum Holiday Resort in Mugla, Turkey.
A pre-inquest hearing this week was told lawyers for the Sheffield family want to probe if Lily could have contracted a bacterial infection, such as E. coli, shigella or salmonella.
And sunseekers staying at the four-star hotel last year have left negative reviews on TripAdvisor – claiming they fell ill with infections and food poisoning after seeing flies on the food.
Marvin, from Scotland, wrote: “I have returned from this holiday with Food Poisoning/Gastro Enteritis that was caused by the resort.
CRIPPLING STOMACH BUG
“It could have been due to the fact that warm food is placed on top of food that has already been sitting, or it could have been the flies or it could have been the cats or it could have been the cleanliness of the staff, take your pick as any one of them could have caused it.”
Ian from County Durham wrote: “I started getting some really nasty stomach pains and extremely bad diarrhoea on top of this light headed/dizziness and feeling sick constantly.
“Unfortunately I am still sick now a week after it first started and have been forced to go to the doctors here at home and submit a stool sample. I am still getting really bad stomach cramps, feeling sick and I am still having to rush to the toilet a few times a day, thankfully it isn’t as bad as it was but it is still happening.
“It is something from the restaurant at the hotel that has made me sick.”
Taz said of a stay in August: “The only thing was not so good was all the illness around I was very sick the second week catching what we thought was a tummy bug twice.
I have returned from this holiday with Food Poisoning/Gastro Enteritis that was caused by the resort.
TripAdvisor review
“Unfortunately we had to stay on site near the room as my stomach was very bad I was having Imodium every day in the second week just so I could go to the pool. I also was not the only one five separate families I spoke too had at least one person who had been very ill on their holiday.”
Gary, from Winchester, said his family accidentally ate raw chicken in the restaurant before becoming unwell last year, and when he complained the manager laughed and said that is how the Turkish eat chicken.
Another traveller said: “1 week of hell. From day 2 I came down with stomach pains and the runs, dizzy, light headed. Food was never covered or hot. Covered in flies.”
Tragic Lily’s parents Lisa and Chris had sought treatment at a local walk-in centre after the youngster fell ill during their stay.
She was given medication from a nearby pharmacy before she died in the hotel room on August 25.
They want Thomas Cook to answer questions about hygiene at the family holiday resort, with dad, Chris, telling Sheffield Coroner’s Court earlier this week: “We just want to know what’s happened”.
Friends and family have raised more than £4,000 for the Gibsons, with one relative describing the tragedy as “the worst possible scenario imaginable”.
TRAGIC DEATH
Writing on a GoFundMe page for the family, uncle Chris wrote: “Without any explanation a three-year-old beautiful happy baby girl was taken from a kind loving family.
“Lily passed away with absolutely no warning whatsoever and there was no way of preparing for the loss.”
“To lose a child under any circumstances is horrific, to lose a child whilst on a family holiday when it should be a time of joy and love is hard to even fathom.”
The inquest heard how Lily was taken to a local Turkish walk-in centre after suffering “yellowing” of the skin, otherwise known as jaundice.
Her dad told the coroner he was given over-the-counter painkillers for his daughter and they were sent away, but she later died.
Assistant coroner Professor Robert Forrest told how establishing the cause of Lily’s death would be crucial in determining how she fell ill.
Reading a document from the family solicitor, Stephen Ireland, Prof Forrest said there had been a reported anecdotal increase in illnesses at the hotel around the time of the Gibson’s holiday.
Click here to donate to Lily’s GoFundMe page and support her devastated parents
The coroner asked lawyers for Thomas Cook to file audit reports of cleanliness and food safety at the hotel ahead of a full inquest later this year. The hotel had a food safety score of 54 per cent, the inquest heard.
Prof Forrest said: “The evidence of poor food safety at the hotel and the possibility that Lily died as a consequence of a food-related illness provides justification for additional enquiries of Thomas Cook and the disclosure of both food safety audits and the additional report outlining areas of improvement.
He said he now wants to gather all reports – including an autopsy report, a police report and a clinical care report – before continuing a full inquest.
Lily’s body was taken to the mortuary in Mugla, Turkey, where a post-mortem examination took place.
She was then repatriated to the UK and buried in a cemetery near the family’s home in Halfway, Sheffield.
‘LITTLE ANGEL’
Supporters raising money for her devastated parents wrote online: “This page is to help raise funds to give a little angel a send off she deserves and to support the parents in their horrendous time of need.
“Please give even a little and let’s be a solid unit of support behind her grieving parents.”
Stephen Ireland, of Thompsons Solicitors, representing the family in a civil case, said: “The death of a child is unimaginable and we will be supporting Chris and Lisa through this difficult time.”
A full inquest date is yet to be set but the next pre-inquest hearing will take place on July 1.
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A Thomas Cook spokeswoman said following the pre-inquest: “Our deepest condolences are with the family after the heartbreaking death of their daughter on holiday last year.
“We have provided the Coroner with all the information we have been able to gather from the hotel and healthcare facilities.
“The cause of death remains unclear. We continue to support the Coroner and the family in any way we can and await the outcome of the inquest.”
The Sun Online has contacted Bodrum Holiday Resort for comment.
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