Tragic Cape Verde diary entries of girl who died on airplane residence from TUI vacation

A mum-of-two became unwell during a TUI trip to Cape Verde and tragically died on the plane ride home after falling into convulsions, as family discover diary detailing hotel conditions

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With multiple fatalities and hundreds of holidaymakers falling ill in Cape Verde, one family have searched for answers about their own heartbreak. Over 1,700 people have joined legal proceedings against TUI after becoming sick during a health crisis.

The major tour operator have now spoken out, with a representative stating they are “deeply saddened” and that “customer health and safety is always our highest priority”. Now another family suspect that their relative perished from the outbreak.

A mother-of-two fell ill while visiting Cape Verde back in 2024, on the aircraft home she began convulsing in her seat. Devastatingly, the 71-year-old passed away during the flight, just 90 minutes before they were scheduled to touch down.

A fellow traveller – a medic – attempted to find her pulse after she started showing signs, but tragically her heart had stopped beating. Seated beside her was her partner. A mental health nurse who was aboard the flight grasped his hand and held tight for the remainder of what would have been an agonising journey, reports the Mirror.

When her daughters discovered reports that the deaths of several British holidaymakers had been connected to stomach bugs contracted on the West African islands, they reportedly became resolved to learn more about whether something comparable had befallen their cherished mother, a retired civil servant from Berkshire.

The family wishes to stay anonymous, the Sunday Times reports, but while seeking answers they discovered diary entries their mother had written during the trip, which revealed how severely ill she became while in Cape Verde – and the appalling conditions at the hotel where she stayed as part of an all-inclusive TUI package break.

“Taken to room 3101. No water. Phone broken. Asked to be moved. Moved to room 117. No water apparently as Island,” read an entry dated from the day the couple arrived – 25 April, 2024.

The mother also recorded the following day that she had raised concerns about the food temperature with a TUI representative, who promised to escalate her complaint.

On 26 April, she documented feeling poorly and suffering so severely that she couldn’t venture out of her hotel room. Her notes reveal there was no running water available, preventing her from washing, while staff were forced to “manually flush the toilet” for several days during their stay.

The last occasion she recorded her experiences on 29 April showed she was beginning to recover and visited the hotel pool, only to suffer an asthma attack around midday when a member of staff started cutting grass in the vicinity.

The woman did suffer from this underlying condition, but her children told the Sunday Times that she managed it effectively. The pair remained in Cape Verde until 2 May before returning home, and while the retired civil servant continued to recover, she never regained full health, her family have said.

The couple were holidaying in Sal, an island situated a few miles from where the primary Shigella outbreak had occurred in Rui.

Since September 2022, there have been numerous cases of tourists experiencing gastric illnesses that are either confirmed or suspected to have been triggered by the shigella bacteria, with 263 Britons who travelled there testing positive for it, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

The family, who have been left devastated by the loss of the mum-of-two, received £500 compensation from TUI for the poor hotel conditions they experienced, after her husband initially rejected an offer of a 20 per cent discount on his next holiday with the company, or £157 in cash.

A post-mortem examination revealed that the gastric illness the woman contracted during her break contributed to her tragic death and that she had a heart condition – something neither she nor her family were aware of previously.

The additional strain caused by the illness – the source of which was not tested, led to “increased physiological demand on the body” through fever and dehydration.

The daughters revealed that their father’s anguish is overwhelming since his wife passed away beside him on the aircraft, and that part of him has been lost alongside their mother.

The eldest daughter stated: “At the time, we were exasperated having dealt with Tui for three months that when they offered a goodwill gesture of £500 for lack of running water we accepted, at this point we needed to focus on being together and grieving the loss of our mum. We had no idea other families were suffering too.”

The younger daughter continued: “The service [and] communications that we had with [Tui] was just appalling. Even if she hadn’t got sick on their holiday, even if she had just passed away on their flight, the fact that there was no sensitivity surrounding the fact that she had died was absolutely horrific…Mum was always fighting for other people and championing the underdog, so it is our turn to fight for her. She would have done it for anyone else.”

TUI has addressed the broader accusations of unsanitary conditions as more holidaymakers collaborate with personal injury solicitors to pursue claims against the travel firm after visiting Cape Verde.

Legal representatives Irwin Mitchell report that 1,700 tourists – including a six-month-old baby – developed gastric ailments, including E. coli, Salmonella and Shigella, alongside parasitic infections such as Cryptosporidium, which can trigger diarrhoea, stomach cramps and fever – and have joined its action against the company.

A spokesperson for TUI expressed: “We are deeply saddened by the reports of these tragic losses and extend our sincere condolences to the families affected. While we cannot comment on individual cases, customer health and safety is always our highest priority.

“We have established procedures in place to support any customer who becomes unwell while on holiday, including access to appropriate medical care and assistance in resort.

“To provide that support, it is important that illness is reported to our teams while customers are in destination. Where this does not happen, it limits the assistance we are able to offer at the time. We continue to follow FCDO advice and engage with hotel partners and relevant authorities where appropriate.”

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, solicitor Jatinder Paul from Irwin Mitchell revealed he had never encountered “a case this large” throughout his extensive career. He elaborated: “In all my years of doing this work, I have not seen a case this large and unfortunately so many that have died as a result of the illnesses.

“We are pursuing all of our cases against TUI. They had a responsibility in taking our clients away on a package holiday which was not going to cause them any illness. Unfortunately it was the opposite of that.”

In February, an investigation by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified 112 reported instances of shigella and 43 of Salmonella since October 2025.

Jane Pressley, 62, from Gainsborough, and Mark Ashley, 55, of Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, tragically passed away in January 2023 and November 2025 respectively following stays at the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal. Karen Pooley, 64, hailing from Lydney, Gloucestershire, also sadly died in October after falling ill and sustaining a broken leg during her stay at the Riu Funana resort in Sal.

A further fatality was recently reported, involving a man whose family have chosen to remain anonymous. He fell seriously ill after visiting in August, and tragically succumbed to multi-organ failure 12 weeks later. The family had forked out over £6,000 for their holiday.