A British businessman has died after drinking a cocktail at a resort in the Dominican Republic, becoming the latest in a series of tourist deaths that have prompted an FBI investigation.
Joseph Allen, 55, from New Jersey, arrived at the Terra Linda Resort in Sosua on 9 June to celebrate a friend's birthday. His family say he was healthy and a frequent visitor to the Caribbean island.
On 12 June, he told friends he was overheating and decided to shower and go to bed early. The next day, he did not answer knocks on his door. A maid found him dead on the floor, according to his sister, Jamie Reed.
His 23-year-old son, who had flown to the Dominican Republic to spend Father's Day with him, landed to discover his father had died. The family are trying to repatriate his body for a post-mortem examination.
At least nine US tourists have died in the Dominican Republic in the past year, with several drinking from hotel minibars before falling ill. The FBI is assisting local authorities with toxicology tests, but no link has been established between the deaths.
Local officials have called the deaths 'unrelated and isolated', attributing them to natural causes. The US embassy in Santo Domingo said it had not found anything to indicate the cases are linked.
