Egypt hotel couple's deaths 'inconclusive' after autopsy

Post-mortems carried out on a British couple who died while on holiday in Egypt have not determined their cause of death, lawyers have said.

Last month, British holidaymakers John and Susan Cooper died after falling ill suddenly during an all-inclusive stay at a plush hotel in Hurghada.

The post-mortems carried out in the UK said the cause of death was "inconclusive", the family's lawyers said in a statement, according to Sky News.

"By way of update, we can confirm that a Home Office post-mortem has now been carried out on John and Susan Cooper," the statement read.

"Unfortunately, notwithstanding the 'positive', though contradictory, assertions of the Egyptian authorities, the results of that post-mortem were inconclusive, and the pathologist was unable to ascertain the likely cause of death in either case."

An inquest will be opened on 18 September to investigate the circumstances surrounding the couple's death, the lawyers added.

Egypt's chief prosecutor said last week the couple's bodies showed "no criminal violence," concluding they had died of complications linked to E. coli bacteria.

The couple's daughter, Kelly Omerod, expressed doubt about the Egyptian forensic examination.

"I have not seen evidence or facts of any E.coli," said Mrs Omerod, who had been staying in the same hotel as her parents.

Thomas Cook moved all its other customers from the hotel after the couple died in what their daughter called "suspicious" circumstances.

The company said it was unclear what caused the deaths of the couple in their 60s, while Egyptian authorities initially pointed to natural causes and said there were no signs of violence. 

Egypt's key tourism industry has been recovering from a devastating blow in 2015 when terrorists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on board.