Holidaymaker 'almost burned alive' after touching hotel room object in Egypt

Daily Mirror

06-05-2025

Steve Ellis saw his ten day holiday in Sharm El Sheikh come to a painful end when he touched something in his hotel room. And is still suffering from the repercussions, five months later
A British holiday maker has been left traumatised after a terrifying incident in his hotel room at the Coral Sea Imperial Sensatori in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. What started as a peaceful break quickly turned into something far more dangerous - a near death experience that left him with lingering pain that still affects his day to day.
Steve Ellis, 42 was enjoying a ten night stay, when he received an electric shock from a bedside light and was "thrown on the floor".
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He recounted the chilling moment when he reached out to touch the lamp, and received an intense shock that lasted around 15 seconds. But his pain wasn't just in his body. "I've got fillings in my mouth, so the electric was going up there," he said.
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He was later informed by doctors he "nearly burnt alive" during the harrowing experience because of his fillings. Reflecting on the severity of the situation, Steve said: "If I wasn't able to get myself off the lamp, then I would have burnt alive.
"A child could have touched the lamp and then they wouldn't have been so lucky."
Steve detailed the moments that lead up to the shock; he had just got out of bed when he touched the lamp with his left hand. His whole body received an electric shock and his hand became stuck - when he tried to free himself with his ring hand that became stuck, too.
Moments later, the father of one, was quickly flung from the bed. Alone, all he could do was shout for help. He was later checked over by a hotel doctor, but when he spoke to the holiday rep he felt he "wasn't that bothered by the incident", reports Wales Online.
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"We said we wanted to make a report and he questioned it. He turned to my partner and wanted her to lie and say that she saw the incident, when she didn't." he said. Infuriated Steve almost walked out of the meeting: "I wasn't going to lie on a document because that could come back to us."
Although he hadn't used the lamp before the incident, he later realised wires were visibly "sticking out".
"But it wasn't something you would notice without going, 'Oh, those cables are stuck out.' You wouldn't have noticed it until it happened," he said.
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Since the incident in January, Steve has been left with a ring shaped burn around his mouth and has undergone blood tests and an ECG to monitor his heart's electrical activity.
The long term effects have also made everyday life painful - and work even harder.
"My hands feel like they are burning and tingling every day. My shoulder is in agony hurts when I lift things as well. I get half-way through the day and I'm in so much pain. I'm losing money because I'm having to come home early or have days off," he said.