Caught a bedbug but killed a person... Couple dies from insecticide sprayed in the next room

Due to Carbon Monoxide from Insecticides
Ingredient Not Used in Domestic Bedbug Insecticides

A British couple staying at a hotel in Egypt during their vacation died from bedbug insecticide sprayed in the neighboring room. The cause was carbon monoxide emitted from the insecticide.

[Photo by YouTube 'Daheuk' channel capture]

According to The Times and other sources on the 11th (local time), John Cooper (69) and Susan Cooper (63), from Lancashire, England, died on August 21, 2018, after inhaling smoke from bedbug insecticide sprayed in the adjacent room at a hotel in Egypt.

The hotel disinfected the room next to theirs with an insecticide called 'Lambda' the day before the couple died. These two rooms were not completely separated and were connected by a single door. Usually, the door was locked and the rooms were rented out separately.

During the disinfection process, the hotel staff, concerned that the insecticide gas might leak into the other room, sealed the gap in the door connecting the two rooms with masking tape. However, the masking tape did not block the harmful substances, and the couple who entered the hotel room that evening suffered the fatal consequences.

The next morning, when their daughter, who was staying in another room, visited them, the couple was in critical condition and eventually passed away.

At a hearing held five years after their deaths, coroner Dr. James Edley concluded that the couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning after inhaling fumes from an insecticide containing methylene chloride.

The main cause was identified as the use of a chemical called 'dichloromethane' to dilute the insecticide. Dichloromethane is not used for bedbug control in Korea.

At the hearing, the couple’s daughter said, "When my parents did not come out for breakfast, I went to their room and found both of them unwell. My father, who opened the door, collapsed in the corner of the bed and said he was feeling sick. My mother was groaning with vomit around her, and there was a strange smell in the room."

The UK Foreign Office reportedly requested information from Egyptian authorities several times regarding this incident but did not receive any response. At the time of the incident, the Egyptian prosecution suggested that the cause of death was likely E. coli.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.