The inquest into the death of a husband and wife who died while on holiday in Egypt is to be held in November, five years after the tragic incident. 

A pre-inquest review held in 2019 heard John, 69, and Susan Cooper, 63, from Burnley, died while on a Thomas Cook holiday in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada in August 2018, as a result of infectious agents or toxic chemicals.

Now, five years on, their family, including daughter Kelly Ormerod, will finally receive answers as to how the couple died.

During the pre-inquest review hearing at Preston Coroner’s Court in May 2019, senior coroner Dr James Adeley read from a preliminary report from Dr Nick Gent, a senior medical advisor from Public Health England, which said a natural cause of death was “highly unlikely.”

The cause of death was still unknown, but Dr Gent said it was not down to carbon monoxide poisoning or food poisoning.

He said: “It is most likely from exposure to infectious agents or toxic chemicals.”

The inquest heard British authorities had still not received all necessary reports from Egypt.

Detective chief inspector Leah Rice said 13 attempts were made between September 26 and March 19 2019, including from the UK Ambassador to Egypt, to get the evidence so the coroner could establish what happened and what caused the deaths.

DCI Rice said a response from Egypt was sent on December 13 2018, saying reports would be handed over once enquiries were completed.

The pair were staying at the Steingenberger Aqua Magic Hotel, which is popular location for hundreds of holiday makers and well reviewed on online travel websites.

Their all-inclusive holiday had been booked through Thomas Cook, where Mrs Cooper had been a ‘long-standing member of staff.

Sam Harmel, representing the couple’s daughter Kelly Ormerod, said the family had been “left in the dark”.

The couple had requested their room air-conditioning to be fixed on August 17, four day before their deaths, the logs showed.

After the review, mum-of-three Mrs Ormerod said: “I’m not surprised by the lack of co-operation from the Egyptian authorities.

“From the tragic incident of both of my parents dying to today no compassion or humanity has been shown the lack of assistance is immoral.

“My aspiration now is to find who is responsible for the deaths of my mum and dad. What was the cause the death? Who is answerable? And has a duty of care been breached.

“Could the Egyptian authorities and Thomas Cook have prevented this from happening?

“Is history repeating itself with Thomas Cook? Lessons have not been learned.

“To be on a holiday where happy memories are meant to be made and cherished, tragedy struck our family.

“Our whole world came crashing down right in front of my very eyes.

“This should have never happened and no one should experience the pain and sorrow we are all going through at this moment.

“From the evidence given today my initial suspicions of the cause of death seems to be more apparent.

“I am confident the coroner and my legal team will find justice and that myself, children and family can move forward.”

In 2018, the hotel in Egypt where the couple fell fatally ill was described as a ‘hotspot’ for illness by a solicitor.

In the first half of 2018, Thomas Cook had been taken to court by Your Holiday Claims who were representing a client who had returned from the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in Hurghada.

Solicitors at the company said that the holidaymaker had become ‘seriously ill’ after a stay in the hotel, where John and Susan Cooper died.

Craig Bibby, a solicitor with the holiday illness team, said the company had dealt with a ‘plethora’ of claims against the hotel in recent years.

He said: “This particular hotel is known among staff because we see so many claims coming in against them.

“I can say that in the last six months we have been in court representing a client who had fallen seriously ill during a stay at the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel.

“Numerous people have been in touch with us over the years to seek legal assistance.

“A significant number of complaints have been made - you could say it’s a bit of a hotspot for claims.”

The inquest into the deaths of John and Susan Cooper will be held at 10am on November 7 at Blackburn Town Hall and is expected to last two days.