Families are suing TUI after six Britons died of stomach problems after holidaying in Cape Verde

“We have also read that story, but at TUI Belgium we are not aware of a particularly large number of sick people or even deaths. The number of reports of travelers becoming ill during or after a trip to Cape Verde is even below the average of reports from the various holiday destinations. But our teams are investigating it,” says Sarah Saucin of TUI Belgium.

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The journey has ended in drama for four Britons in recent months. The victims are Elena Walsh (64) from Birmingham, Mark Ashley (55) from Bedfordshire, Karen Pooley (64) from Gloucestershire and a 56-year-old man whose identity has not been released. Their families are now taking legal action following the deaths of their loved ones. “The four are not the only ones. A total of six Britons have died since January 2023 after a holiday on the West African island,” said the law firm Irwin Mitchell, which bundled the six cases and will investigate. More than 1,500 people also became ill.

Never recovered

“We went to Cape Verde for a relaxing holiday,” Mark Ashley’s wife said The Idependent, “but Mark became violently ill and never recovered.” Three days into their October holiday in 2025, Ashley, a self-employed forklift driver, suffered from severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever and extreme lethargy. The couple had booked their trip for more than 3,400 euros with TUI and stayed at the five-star resort Riu Palace Santa Maria on Sal. The father-of-two, who was managing his diabetes with medication, collapsed at home in Houghton Regis on November 12 and was rushed to hospital, but died minutes later.

Elena Walsh, a part-time nurse and mother of one, died in August 2025 after falling ill while staying at the Riu Cabo Verde resort on the same island.

Organ failure

Karen Pooley from Lydney traveled with a friend to the Riu Funana resort on Sal on October 7, 2025 for a two-week holiday, which was also booked through TUI in Britain. The retired mother of two became unwell on October 11 with stomach complaints, including diarrhea. She later died. Pooley’s first death certificate noted multiple organ failure, sepsis, cardiac and respiratory arrest and a broken left leg. The latter was the result of a fall. When she was sick at night and went to the toilet, she slipped.

The other two Britons to have died since 2023 are Jane Pressley, 62, from Gainsborough, who died in January 2023 after falling ill at the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal, in November the previous year, and a man in her 60s from Watford, who died in November 2024 from a stomach ailment.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell represents the families of all six deceased people, but also points to the more than 1,500 other people who have become ill during or after a visit to Cape Verde. The cause of all the misery is still unknown. But the clinical picture is quite similar, say the families of victims. The only question is whether they will still be able to prove the causal link between the trip and the death of their loved one. But because no autopsy was conducted, it is difficult to draw a direct link. But given the other cases, there is a good chance that it is more than a coincidence that they all became ill after a stay in Cape Verde.

No autopsy

Jatinder Paul, a personal injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, emphasized the seriousness of the situation and raises serious questions about hygiene and food safety. “The number of holidaymakers in Cape Verde affected by serious and debilitating gastrointestinal diseases is truly staggering. Nothing makes the seriousness of this situation clearer than these recent deaths,” he said. “It is almost incomprehensible that holidaymakers continue to report hygiene problems in these hotels in Cape Verde year after year.”

The lawyer urged tour operators to take “meaningful and decisive action” to address the reported hygiene issues, and stressed their responsibility for the safety of customers booking package holidays.

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Travel organization TUI has informed the BBC that it is carefully investigating all reports. The company emphasizes that it has brought more than one million travelers to Cape Verde since 2022 and that customers who became ill during their stay received the necessary support. The RIU hotel chain responds that it is “deeply affected” by the reports. At the same time the British newspaper reports The Timeswho investigated on site, that the hotels are still offered and that guests are not actively warned.

Dangerous anti-diarrhea drugs

The FPS Foreign Affairs advises on its website to use bottled water and not to drink tap water

“Measures to prevent traveler’s diarrhea, such as washing hands, are essential. To treat diarrhea, preventing or treating dehydration is paramount. To prevent dehydration, special saline solutions available at pharmacies can be used. However, it is best to avoid the antidiarrheic drugs sold in local pharmacies, which are usually ineffective or even dangerous,” it warns.