Over 100 holidaymakers who allegedly suffered severe illness at a luxury hotel in Turkey are considering legal action against tourism company TUI. According to their lawyers, fourteen families who recently stayed at the Rixos Sungate in Antalya tested positive for salmonella, E. coli, and campylobacter.
A hotel guest expressed the distressing experience of fearing for his young daughter’s life during their stay. TUI acknowledged that it is covering certain medical expenses and emphasized that customer health and safety remains their highest priority.
Following their arrival at the hotel in late May, Dominic Brackley and his six-year-old daughter Vdara, hailing from Leighton Buzzard in Bedfordshire, fell severely ill. They tested positive for salmonella upon returning to the UK.
Sharing his distressing experience, he recounted, “There was a moment when I genuinely feared for her life. I had never seen her in such a severe condition. We had to resort to using an ice bath to bring down her temperature. She was refusing to drink, and our worry escalated significantly.”
According to another holidaymaker who spoke to the BBC, their group of 16 individuals was redirected away from the hotel due to reports of food poisoning and salmonella cases, with some people requiring hospitalization. As a result, they were denied entry to the premises.
In mid-April, reports of food poisoning incidents at the upscale resort began to surface.
During that period, around 30 families established a WhatsApp group to share details about their symptoms.
Holidaymakers who had reservations at the hotel for June expressed their concerns regarding the reported outbreak. However, they believed that any problems would have been addressed by the time of their arrival, considering the issues that had already been brought to light.
Anthony Laird, a personal trainer from Hornchurch in east London, returned home on June 7th along with his wife, in-laws, and two children. They had traveled to their destination a week prior.
After consuming a meal at the hotel, Anthony Laird reported experiencing fever, sweating, a painful stomach, vomiting, and diarrhea within a 24-hour period.
Upon visiting the local medical center, Mr. Laird received a diagnosis of gastroenteritis, with the confirmation that his salmonella test came back negative.
Voicing his apprehension, Mr. Laird expressed, “I had a strong feeling that something was wrong. Experiencing excessive sweating like that is unusual for me. The situation at the medical center was overwhelming; numerous people were coming in and out, all presenting with the same symptoms. That can’t be just a coincidence.”
Due to a significantly elevated infection level, Mr. Laird required hospitalization, with TUI covering all of his medical expenses.
He added, “Usually, such expenses are left for your insurance to handle. I simply assumed that they wouldn’t make the same mistake again.”
Upon returning to the UK while still experiencing illness, Mr. Laird was admitted to Queen’s Hospital in Romford, where he continued to require medical treatment. Approximately 10 other guests, who had visited the resort in the past three months, reached out to the BBC with comparable accounts, sharing similar symptoms.
Liam Garnett, hailing from Failsworth, Manchester, embarked on a trip to the Rixos Sungate in April with his family. He observed uncovered food being served at the resort, along with frequently encountering unclean cutlery, crockery, and tables.
In addition, Liam Garnett mentioned the presence of cats in and around the restaurant, chefs smoking in fire exits, neglecting to wash their hands, and failing to wear gloves while handling food.
Mr. Garnett and his children endured five days of stomach issues during their stay at the hotel. Describing the holiday as a “disaster,” he expressed a desire to understand what went wrong.
Source : bbc.com