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CatastropheSri Lanka

Sri Lanka investigates deaths of British and German tourists

Wesley Dockery with AFP, dpa
February 8, 2025

Two young foreign women died after feeling sick in their hostel in Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital. There is suspicion that their deaths may be linked to their rooms being sprayed down for insects.

https://p.dw.com/p/4qCWT
A symbolic image of an ambulance in Sri Lanka on March 15, 2023
The tourists succumbed to their sickness while being treated by Sri Lankan healthcare authoritiesImage: IMAGO/NurPhoto

Sri Lanka police said Saturday that they have opened an investigation into the deaths of two female tourists.

A 24-year-old British national, along with a 26-year-old German, were feeling sick at their hostel in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, and then taken to the hospital.    

The family of the British woman, Ebony McIntosh, said she had experienced symptoms of vomiting, nausea and difficulty breathing.

McIntosh passed away in the Sri Lankan hospital where she was being treated on February 1. It was the same day she entered the facility for treatment. 

The German woman passed away later. She was staying at the hotel with a German man, who is still hospitalized.  

What could the cause of their deaths be? 

Sri Lankan authorities are seeking to determine whether the deaths of the tourists can be linked to their rooms being cleansed for insects on January 30. The police say toxic pesticides may have been used in the rooms to control bed bugs and other pests.      

There is also a chance that the death of the female tourists could have been due to food poisoning.  

Ebony McIntosh's family has started a GoFundMe to travel to Sri Lanka and bring her back to the UK. "We need to be with her and bring her home safely," it read on the GoFundMe page.

Edited by: Louis Oelofse