Authorities Announce Update in Case of Tourists Found Dead in Belize
Massachusetts residents Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafae El-Arar, 26, checked into San Pedro Town's Royal Kahal Beach Resort on Feb. 19 and were found deceased by staff members on Feb. 22 in the Bird of Paradise suite. While authorities were initially investigating the deaths as drug overdoses, it seems that the case has taken a turn.
During a March 19 press conference (via 7 News Belize) Police Commissioner Chester Williams announced that the hotel 'agreed [to] a second round of testing' for the presence of carbon monoxide. Previous guests had remarked upon the carbon monoxide levels at the resort, Williams reported, and the problem was apparently so pervasive that the three victims even conducted testing of their own."While they were there, they had done some tests with their own carbon monoxide tester and they had detected carbon monoxide," Williams said. Authorities are unaware of the test results, but the hotel has been temporarily closed pending the outcome of the investigation. It's not clear when it will be reopened. Williams said that the toxicology reports for all three women should provide more definitive answers when it arrives "within the next week or two."
"We are deeply alarmed by news reports which suggest that carbon monoxide levels in the hotel could have been at dangerously high levels and that the resort has now suddenly closed without public explanation," the women's families said in a joint statement to NBC News. "We believe the families of all guests — past and future — deserve a clear explanation for this action.'
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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