Widow takes daughter, 9, on TUI holiday to spread dad's ashes but is struck down with serious illness

A devastated widow's trip to scatter her late husband's ashes on an idyllic island turned into a harrowing ordeal when she was struck by food poisoning. Sarah Tootell, from Bury, embarked on the emotional journey with her nine-year-old daughter Halle to Cape Verde, marking their first holiday since her husband's death six years ago.

The 44-year-old mother mustered the courage to book the escape, seeking peace at the opulent five-star Riu Palace Santa Maria hotel. However, their return flight on May 16, after a week-long stay, saw Sarah's health dramatically decline.

"This was the first time I had travelled on my own with Halle and took a lot of courage to book in the first place," Sarah shared. "So I'm devastated by the way things have turned out."

READ MORE: TUI puts on thousands more seats after training 443 cabin crew and 130 pilots

Their getaway, which commenced on May 8, was arranged through the travel titan TUI. But as they journeyed back, Sarah was overcome with a fever, leading to severe vomiting, diarrhoea, and abdominal pain.

A consultation with her GP led to the grim discovery that she had contracted shigella, a severe infection typically acquired from contaminated food or water, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

Still suffering from the aftermath, Sarah, who had reservations about some meals, is battling ongoing nausea and difficulty eating.

She said: "My GP said it was likely something from the holiday but I couldn't believe it when I got a call from public health who said I had tested positive for shigella."

Sarah is one of 10 individuals currently taking legal steps against the Riu Palace Santa Maria, following claims of over 300 food poisoning cases at the resort. Among them is Graham Lamont who suffered a significant weight loss after severe food poisoning during his family holiday in May.

The 59-year-old was celebrating his daughter's academic milestone and still requires medical attention months on. His spouse, Josephine Black, aged 53, also became sick and is involved in the legal action.

She shared her concerns: "We've both needed time off work, but as I have started to improve, Graham has continued to struggle with illness. The amount of weight he's lost is such a big concern now and doctors have taken a number of blood tests to discover more about his illness.

"This is the last thing you expect from a five-star holiday and we now wish we'd never been. We've spoken to others who fell ill at the same time and have seen terrible reports about this hotel since coming home. I just wish we'd seen some of these reviews before we left."

Their solicitor, Jatinder Paul from Irwin Mitchell, voiced concern: "It's deeply concerning that we have been instructed to act year after year. Many of our clients have reported worryingly similar experiences and patterns that have left many of them seriously ill."

He went on to say, "Our clients understandably have many questions of how they came to be so ill and why people are still being sent to the resort, when based on what we're seeing, lessons don't appear to have been learned from previous illness outbreaks among guests."

A spokesperson for Riu, discussing the issue stated: "For RIU Hotels and Resorts the health and safety of our guests is our main priority and this is why we strictly fulfil all the regulations regarding this matter in all our destinations and hotels. During the summer of 2022 the Riu Palace Santa Maria hotel averaged over an 80 per cent occupancy rate."

"Throughout that period our Medical Services made internal analysis and activated all the pertinent protocols and nevertheless no significant amount of cases of guests that felt unwell were detected. Furthermore, exhaustive controls are conducted periodically, both internal and externally."

TUI has yet to respond to requests for comment.