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Three American visitors found dead at Sandals, Exuma – No foul play suspected

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Investments & Aviation Chester Cooper.

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HEALTH and Wellness Minister Michael Darville.

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

THREE foreign nationals were found dead at the Sandals Emerald Bay Resort in Exuma on Friday, confirmed Health Minister Dr Michael Darville.

Exuma and Ragged Island MP and Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper confirmed they were Americans - two men and a woman.

He said while the cause of death is unknown at this time, he was advised that foul play was not suspected.

He added that he has briefed Prime Minister Philip 'Brave' Davis on the matter.

Another American, said to be the wife of one of the deceased, was airlifted to New Providence to receive treatment at the Princess Margaret Hospital.

Before their deaths, Dr Darville said two of the visitors were treated at the island’s clinic.

“To my understanding, yesterday two of the individuals presented to the healthcare facility in Exuma experiencing nausea and vomiting,” Dr Darville said. “They were treated at the facility. The doctor on-call made a recommendation for them to be airlifted to New Providence and subsequently they refused.

“So, this morning officials from the Ministry of Health were called to Sandals Resort for an investigation where three of the individuals were pronounced dead.”

According to unofficial reports, Dr Darville said, the deceased were all in their 60s. To his knowledge, he added, the incident was not COVID-19 related.

Regarding the airlifted woman, Dr Darville said: “To my understanding, and it’s very sketchy, they were subsequently taken to the mini hospital in Exuma. They received oxygen therapy as well as various different medication and there were signs of improvements prior to being airlifted.”

Dr Darville said he planned to fly to the island Friday to be a part of a full investigation into the incident along with other agencies.

“At 5:45pm, we have a team from the Ministry of Health, the Department of Environmental Health, the Ministry of Works, and the PHA who will be en-route at Sandals on Exuma for a full investigation along with the Royal Bahamas Police Force,” he said.

In a press statement issued not long after the incident, the resort expressed “deep sadness”.

“Nothing is more important to Sandals Resorts than the safety of our guests,” the statement read. “It is with deep sadness that we can confirm the passing of three guests at Emerald Bay Resort on May 6, 2022."

“A health emergency was initially reported and following our protocols we immediately alerted emergency medical professionals and relevant local authorities to provide support and investigate the situation. We are actively working to support both the investigation as well as the guests’ families in every way possible during this difficult time. Out of respect for the privacy of our guests, we cannot disclose further information at this time.”

Comments

TalRussell 2 years, 5 months ago

Fact is as of now beyond the three travelers to Exuma being stone deaded ... tis pure jib gossips by the colony's officials ... so be best keep they opinions among themselves, ― Yes?

tribanon 2 years, 5 months ago

Likely a new deadly Bahamas variant according to speculation by Bill Gates. Darville has no doubt already summoned Fauci to verify and name the variant, while enjoying a week's vacation at Sandals in Exuma at the Bahamian taxpayers' expense. Meanwhile, questions relating to the long-term side effects of multiple jabs by the experimental vaccines go unanswered. LMAO

John 2 years, 5 months ago

Well Apparently the three who refused to be airlifted have died. Unusual for persons being really sick ( from an unknown cause) to refuse medical attention. Hopefully tge fourth victim pulls through and is able to explain what went down. Naloxone.

ted4bz 2 years, 5 months ago

Billions led themselves to slaughter, it could very well be the potion. This could be anything, but expect this, more is coming. These kinds of things happening around here can easily be used to black mail us around here.

Baha10 2 years, 5 months ago

This would appear to be “some sort” of injection, inhalation or ingestion poisoning … drugs, chemical, food … but only a proper autopsy will confirm in conjunction with whatever information can be obtained from the sole survivor.

sheeprunner12 2 years, 5 months ago

They chose to die in Paradise. May they rest in peace.

John 2 years, 5 months ago

A lot of Americans are hooked on opoids ( pain killers). When they can no longer get prescriptions for them, they buy them off the street. And because street drugs are unregulated, a single dose can be deadly. Another epidemic that is hitting the streets of America is fentanyl laced cocaine. Fentanyl makes cocaine over forty times more potent and an overdose can be so deadly, even persons attempting to assist someone who had overdosed can also overdose, . Hopefully this deadly poison does not come here to The Bahamad.

jt 2 years, 5 months ago

You can’t say this. Nobody can. Fentanyl and cocaine are two radically different classes of drugs, one a stimulant and the other an opioid. “40x more powerful” is utter garbage. Fentanyl on its own is incredibly potent for a cocaine user or anyone without an opiate/opioid drug habit.

https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/a…

Here

John 2 years, 5 months ago

So which part of my post are you disputing? And yes, I was being modest with the ‘40 times more potent.’ There is another opioid even more powerful. And it can be deadly even when absorbed through the skin.

tribanon 2 years, 5 months ago

So what else is new? It's been common knowledge for years that Communist Red China has been flooding the Americas with highly addictive and deadly pills.

ThisIsOurs 2 years, 5 months ago

Well its the exact same symptoms as the kids who ate the marijuana snacks. But as someone said abive, noone but the coroner know for sure. I do hope that in the interest of full transparency they inform the public what the cause of death was, I dont think there's a medical privacy issue in the case of unnatural death.

Bonefishpete 2 years, 5 months ago

Only thing comes to mind is was any termite fumigant treatment used in or near their rooms? Has happened before.

rosiepi 2 years, 5 months ago

The American papers reported the RBPF’s investigation is awaiting autopsy results, good luck with that. As for Darville saying he doesn’t believe it’s Covid related, really, based on what? Omicron is difficult to diagnose with the gov’t’s quickie tests and of course the PCR tests…?

John 2 years, 5 months ago

‘ Fentanyl, also spelled fentanil, is a powerful opioid used as a pain medication and, together with other medications, for anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug, sometimes mixed with heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine. Its potentially deadly overdose effects can be neutralized by naloxone.’

John 2 years, 5 months ago

The latest claim ( apparently from the only survivor) is that the issue was a leaking air conditioner. According to the report gas was leaking into their villa. So maybe if they hadn’t hadn’t gone back there and the situation was checked out properly, all may have survived… maybe.

Baha10 2 years, 5 months ago

Leaking Freon is certainly toxic and can be deadly … but hard to imagine Guests of a Hotel would have been left in a Room experiencing such an issue pending the leak being repaired?!? Anyway, let us hope this is not the cause for the sake of “Sandals”!

John 2 years, 5 months ago

Well they are saying it wasn’t Freon but that the school picked up carbon monoxide and fed it into the room. From a gril or gas generator they suspect. The lone survivor is left paralyzed, according to reports.

TalRussell 2 years, 5 months ago

Cuban state TV reports powerful explosion apparently caused by a gas leak at Havana hotel - 28 reported dead.. ... Makes open eyes serious questions about our own island's hotel risks onsite and external preventive measures and response time, equipment and training capabilities, ― Yes?

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