Thomas Cook faces legal action over pool death
Thomas Cook is facing legal action from the family of a 26-year-old who drowned while on a Club 18-30 holiday in Crete.
Shane Virmani, from Ilford, London, died when he was allegedly pulled into the swimming pool at the Mirage Studios Complex in Malia during a party to celebrate his birthday in August 2012.
The family claim Thomas Cook breached its contract and duty of care by selecting accommodation which did not abide by Greek law.
They allege that the pool was not manned, was not fully lit at night, and should not have been open at the time of the incident, which happened in the early hours of the morning.
According to court papers, CCTV footage at around 5am shows the pool of the one-star complex was open and guests were being served alcohol from the adjoining bar.
At around 5.50am Mr Virmani was sat, fully clothed, by the side of the swimming pool when he was pulled in by a friend.
A few minutes later, a member of the hotel staff arrived and told everyone to get out of the pool.
Mr Virmani’s body was discovered around 20 minutes later by two hotel guests who were searching the pool area for a set of room keys.
Club 18-30 issued a statement saying it takes health and safety matters very seriously and regularly undertakes independent third party audits of all its properties to ensure that only the very highest standards are maintained.
A spokesperson said: "We would like to reiterate our heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of Mr Virmani. Our resort and welfare teams offered every support and assistance possible to the family and friends of the deceased not only at the time, but also following this tragic incident.
"As this is now subject to legal proceedings, we are unable to provide further comments at this time, so as not to unduly influence any possible outcome."
It said Club 18-30 reps, holiday guides and in-resort information all stress the dangers of using swimming pools after dark, especially when they are closed.
Kieran Mitchell at Slater and Gordon, the lawyers representing the family, said: "Mrs Virmani is determined to get justice for her son. His death has had a profound impact on his mother and his two sisters who have lost a loving son and brother.
"We claim that had Thomas Cook ensured its hotel complied with its legal safety requirements and had Shane not been dragged into the pool, he would not have drowned.
"If Thomas Cook is happy to take a profit sending customers to this kind of property, it should share responsibility for when things go wrong."
The family is also suing the friend who they allege pulled Mr Virmani into the water without knowing whether he could swim.
The damages claim could reach £100,000.
An inquest in Greece found Mr Virmani, who worked for Tesco, had consumed only a ‘limited quantity’ of alcohol.
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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