Egypt’s top prosecutor orders release of bodies of British couple to UK embassy

Egypt’s top prosecutor Nabil Sadek ordered the bodies of a British couple who died in a hotel in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Hurghada last month be handed over to the UK embassy in Cairo, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Friday.

John Cooper, 69, and his wife Susan Cooper, 63, who were on vacation in Hurghada at the Steigenberger Aqua Hotel, died within hours of each other on 21 August.

The Egyptian tourism ministry had said that a preliminary autopsy showed the couple had died of natural causes.

Earlier this week, Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with representatives of Thomas Cook, the British company that organized the couple’s tour, promising a transparent investigation into the causes of the couple’s death.

Egypt’s top prosecutor had earlier stated that a committee of engineers tasked by the prosecution to examine the couple’s hotel room’s air conditioning system and found it to be sound, refuting reports that harmful gases might have been leaked into the room.

In the Friday statement, the top prosecutor said that investigations are still underway and that results will be announced in time.

source:Ahram Online