Satellite image of Coral Sea Resort in Sharm el-Sheikh. Pic: Google
An investigation has begun by the tour operator First Choice Holidays and local police after a child, 5, from Forest Hill, Lewisham died in a pool while on holiday with her family in the Red Sea Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
The Foreign Office say the local consulate is assisting the family.
She has been named as Chloe Johnson in an interview by her grandmother April on Sky News who has been critical of the situation at the Coral Sea Waterworld Hotel.
She said her family were angry about what they allege to have been a lack of help at the scene and that an ambulance took four hours to arrive.
Ms Johnson said: “She was a lovely lovely girl. She was intelligent for her age, she was starting to read. She was very polite.”
She says her son, Tony, is in a very bad way as his daughter “was his life.”
Chloe’s mother, Sarah Thompson, 32, has described to a national newspaper May 19 her state of devastation and despair about how her daughter died in the holiday wave pool, and the circumstances afterwards.
She also paid tribute to Chloe who had survived open heart surgery when only 2 days old.
The Foreign Office says: “We are aware of the death of a British national in Sharm el-Sheikh on 17 May. We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”
First Choice Holidays have released a statement saying that it: “can sadly confirm that a child has died while staying at the Coral Sea Waterworld hotel in Egypt. The incident occurred in a pool in the hotel’s waterpark. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family at this extremely difficult time. The British Consulate were immediately informed and they are now working with our dedicated resort team in Egypt, to offer every assistance possible to the family in resort.”
First Choice said: “In partnership with the hotelier, our resort team are working to understand how the incident occurred, and we will be carrying out a full and thorough investigation. At this time our priority is to provide support to the family.”
Coral Sea Waterworld Hotel in Sharm el-Sheikh. Pic: First Choice
The Press Association reports that Ashraf Khalil, the general manager of the Coral Sea Waterworld, says there is an official investigation by the Egyptian district attorney and Egyptian police.
He said: “We are also, in collaboration with First Choice, flying in investigators from the UK today.”
