Samples taken from three American tourists who died in a Bahamas resort under mysterious circumstances have been sent to a laboratory in the United States to speed up the results and help authorities understand what happened, officials said Monday.
Bahamas Police Commissioner Paul Roll said officers also took samples from the rooms where the tourists were staying and from the surrounding property to determine if there were any contaminants.
“We really want to know what caused this,” he said.
He identified the victims as Michael Phillips, 68, and his wife, Robbie Phillips, 65, of Tennessee, and Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, of Florida. Rolle refused to provide his hometowns.
Chiarella’s wife, Donis, was flown to a Florida hospital and is in critical condition, Raul said.
Their bodies were found Friday morning at the Sandals Emerald Bay resort in Exuma, where the couple was staying in two separate villas.
The samples were sent to a laboratory in Philadelphia, and the results of the toxicological test are expected in about a week, Rolle said. He noted that the Bahamas Ministry of Health and police officers are still in the resort.
Asked what he thought might have caused the deaths of tourists, Roll said: “I will not speculate.”
“It’s certainly very irregular,” said Dr. David Agus, a CBS News medical officer.
As a general rule, Agus said it is important to have access to your health records when traveling and listening to your body.
“If you start to feel bad and it doesn’t get better, then you go to the emergency room wherever you are,” Agus said. “If the treatment doesn’t help, go back to the emergency room.”
He noted that all four tourists went to the doctor the night before their bodies were found and complained that they were feeling unwell. He said they went to different times and ate different things.
Sandals Resorts, meanwhile, said it would not comment further than its initial statement, which said it supported the investigation and the families of those affected.
“Out of respect for the privacy of our guests, we cannot disclose additional information at this time,” the company said.
The death comes seven years after a Delaware family became seriously ill in a US Virgin Islands resort. U.S. authorities have found that methyl bromide, a highly toxic pesticide banned from residential use in 1984, is to blame and has been used at the resort several times.
Celebrity views during the Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Weekend at Sandals Emerald Bay on April 9, 2010 in Great Exuma Island, Bahamas. Dimitrios Kamburis through Getty
Add Comment