Thomas Cook branch pays tribute to Susan Cooper
Colleagues of Thomas Cook agent Susan Cooper, who died on holiday in Egypt, have described her as the ‘life and soul’ of the Burnley store.
The store, which closed for five days after Susan’s death, also thanked industry colleagues and customers for their messages of condolence.
In a statement, the store said: "Susan always had a smile on her face and made us and our customers laugh out loud every day. Plus she was always the person you wanted to choose you in the Secret Santa!
"Susan was not just our colleague but also our good friend and we will miss her dearly. We are so grateful for all the messages we’ve received from customers and other businesses in the local area, as well as our colleagues across the business."
Susan, 63, and her husband John, 69, died while on a Thomas Cook holiday in Hurghada.
An investigation continues into the cause of their deaths, which prompted Thomas Cook to pull all of its guests from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel following ‘raised levels of illness’.
Roughly half of the 200 British guests who were offered alternative accommodation in the resort, or the option to cut short their holiday, asked to return home.
Customers with bookings over the next four weeks are being contacted and offered alternative options.
Meanwhile, more Thomas Cook customers have come forward to complain of falling sick while staying at the hotel.
Childminder Jackie Elliot told the Sun newspaper she had suffered vomiting and diarrhoea shortly after arriving at the hotel on August 10 and had to be taken to hospital.
A Thomas Cook spokesperson said: "We are aware that a number of customers, including Mrs Elliott, have come forward to say they have experienced illness while staying at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada, Egypt. We are very sorry for any customers whose holidays have been spoiled and are contacting every Thomas Cook customer who has returned from staying at the hotel in the last three days.
"Mrs Elliott was hospitalised on Friday evening after reporting sickness on her way to the airport for her return flight. While Mrs Elliott was in hospital, she was visited by our resort team on two different occasions and offered assistance. We arranged for the family to fly home on Saturday as soon as the hospital said she was fit to fly."
Red Sea governor Major General Ahmed Abdullah defended health and safety standards at the hotel when he met with UK media earlier this week.
But he confirmed there was a strange smell in the couple’s bedroom, as claimed by their daughter.
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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