A British widow was forced to bury her husband in an unmarked grave in Cape Verde after he died just days into a two-week TUI holiday, highlighting a growing number of tourist deaths linked to serious illnesses on the islands.
Widow's Ordeal
Jacqueline Timson, 69, from Heighington, near Lincoln, has spoken out about the death of her husband Colin, 74, a retired forklift driver. The couple paid £2,000 for a TUI getaway at the Riu Funana resort on the island of Sal. On the second day, Colin began suffering severe sickness and diarrhoea. The next morning, Jacqueline returned from breakfast to find he had collapsed. He was rushed to a clinic and then a hospital, dying on July 8, 2024.
A death certificate from Cape Verde authorities confirmed the cause as dehydration, severe anaemia and septic shock from acute gastroenteritis and digestive bleeding. Jacqueline, who also fell ill, believed she lacked adequate travel insurance to repatriate Colin's body. With no cremation option on the island, he was buried in an unmarked grave three days later.
Resort Conditions
Jacqueline recalled: "Some of the food appeared to be undercooked and was lukewarm. The toilets round the pool were full of dead cockroaches and we didn't go in the pool because the water looked yellow." A TUI spokesperson said no reports of vomiting or diarrhoea were made to them at the time, adding they could not comment on medical causation.
Jacqueline paid tribute: "Colin was a wonderful husband. The hardest thing is that I couldn't even bring his ashes home. Instead, he's buried in an unmarked grave, alone, thousands of miles away."
Second Death
In a separate incident, Scottish tourist Laurence Brownlie, 67, collapsed and died at dinner on June 8, 2024, during a two-week stay at the five-star Meliá Llana Beach Resort and Spa. The retired IT engineer from West Lothian had been unwell for days. Flight crew attempted CPR for 20 minutes but could not revive him; a suspected heart attack was the cause.
His daughter Erin said: "Our family was left devastated. I can't imagine how harrowing it must have been for my mum seeing her soulmate pass away." The family raised concerns about flies in food and lack of a defibrillator. The TUI spokesperson said no gastric illness reports were raised before or after the incident.
Legal Action
Specialist international injury lawyers Irwin Mitchell have been instructed by both families. The law firm claims it has been contacted by around 600 people in the last four months regarding serious bacterial illnesses—such as salmonella, E. coli and shigella—linked to Cape Verde all-inclusive trips. Since summer 2022, Irwin Mitchell has represented more than 2,500 people, including loved ones of ten people who died after gastric illness.
Jatinder Paul, a specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: "Nothing brings the impact of these incidents into sharper focus than the deaths of British holidaymakers. The first-hand accounts are not only incredibly stark but harrowing."
TUI Response
A TUI spokesperson said: "We are aware of both incidents. However, neither customer, nor their families, raised concerns with TUI regarding their hotel or holiday during their stay or following their return to the UK. Our thoughts remain with the families affected. TUI provided support in both cases, including assistance to family members and those directly impacted. Any claim received will be considered through the appropriate legal process, and it would be inappropriate to speculate on causation or liability."
