Thomas Cook to fund campaign to reduce risks of carbon monoxide poisoning
Thomas Cook is setting up a new carbon monoxide initiative following the tragic deaths of Christi and Bobby Shepherd in Corfu.
Following recent conversations with the children’s parents, Sharon Wood and Robert Shepherd, the travel giant has pledged to raise an initial £1 million to fund a campaign to raise awareness of the risks of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Thomas Cook had previously come under fierce criticism for the way it handled the case and its lack of communication with the children’s families.
Anger towards the company escalated when it emerged that it had received £3 million in claims against Louis Group, which owns the hotel where the tragedy happened.
Following a major backlash from the British public, Thomas Cook agreed to give half of the money it received to the international children’s charity Unicef.
Under this latest initiative, another £1 million will be used to promote awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning through research, the promotion of legislation and other initiatives within the tourism industry, aimed at reducing the risks.
The campaign is being supported by the children’s parents, with their mother taking an active role.
"I have found Thomas Cook’s pro-active and respectful approach in setting up this initiative very refreshing," said Wood.
"Working together is the best way to facilitate positive change and I embrace this opportunity wholeheartedly."
She said she was ‘very proud’ that Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser ‘chooses not to forget what happened to Christi and Bobby’.
"My children lost their lives to carbon monoxide and a very public case highlighted their deaths, yet there are still hundreds of British CO victims every year. There is so much more that can be done to stop this ‘Silent Killer’."
The brother and sister, aged six and seven, died when they were overcome with fumes from a faulty gas boiler while staying in a bungalow with their father and step-mother at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in October 2006.
The couple were also overcome with fumes but survived.
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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