Brenna Cooper
A couple who are among the group of tourists filing a group lawsuit against TUI have explained what happened on their 'holiday from hell' to Cape Verde.
UK-based travel agent and airline TUI is currently facing a lawsuit filed by tourists who have visited the African island and fallen sick with serious gastric illnesses over the past three years, with the total claimants now over 1,000 people.
Illnesses have included E.coli, salmonella and shigella - which is a potentially fatal bacterial infection - and have impacted travellers as young as three years old at seven different hotels across the island.
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Disgruntled holidaymakers are now determined to get to the bottom of why so many people have fallen ill, with Irwin Mitchell representing the affected clients.
The clients include couple Cordelia Plummer and Ian Waller, with 56-year-old customer service assistant Cordelia revealing that she became ill with symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting while enjoying a £3,000 all-inclusive break booked via TUI.
Cordelia says she spent several days confined to her room after falling ill, with a GP back in the UK later suspecting she may have contracted shigella.
Meanwhile Ian, who fell ill several days later, still suffers from altered bowel habits.
Recalling how their 'dream' trip turned into the holiday from hell, Cordelia said: "What started as headaches and a feeling of nausea, became the worst sickness and diarrhoea I’ve ever known.
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"I think everyone has probably had an upset stomach at one time or another, but this was something much worse."
The couple went on to allege seeing lukewarm food left uncovered and cockroaches near the dessert stands. "We both had concerns about the presentation of the food, with some dishes not appearing to be thoroughly cooked or what looked like the same dishes from lunch would appear again at dinner," she added.
"While at the hotel, we encountered several other guests who also said they had been ill with the same symptoms as ours. There were three older ladies we spoke to and a group of younger girls too who also said they’d been really ill.
"The number of stories we have seen and heard before coming home and returning to the UK are shocking."
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Speaking about the group lawsuit, lawyer Jatinder Paul, who works for Irwin Mitchell, explained the amount of travellers who have visited hotels on the island and subsequently fallen ill is 'incredibly concerning' and suggested these cases weren't 'isolated incidents'.
"Gastric illness can result in long-term health problems or even death, and the fear is this could end in tragedy if something isn’t done to address the underlying causes," he added.
LADbible has reached out to TUI for comment.