Widow buries husband in Cape Verde as more Britons die after falling ill on holiday

A British widow has revealed how she had to bury her husband in Cape Verde after he became among a group of tourists to the country to die.

Specialist international injury lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have been instructed by a further two families after two men fell ill and died while on all-inclusive holidays in the African country.

They are a Lincolnshire man who died the day after falling ill during a holiday to the Riu Funana in Sal. His wife believed she did not have adequate travel insurance so would not have been able to repatriate her husband’s body, meaning she had to bury him in an unmarked grave on the island of Sal.

Meanwhile, a Scottish man staying at the Meliá Llana Beach Resort and Spa collapsed and died at dinner three days after complaining of illness.

Lawyers helping more than 2,500 UK holidaymakers to Cape Verde who suffered serious illness

Law firm Irwin Mitchell has been instructed by around a further 600 people in the last four months who went on all-inclusive holidays to Cape Verde and reported serious bacterial illnesses. It means the legal experts now represent more than 2,500 people who have complained of serious illnesses – such as salmonella, E. Coli and shigella - linked to holidays in Cape Verde since the summer of 2022. They include the loved ones of ten people who died following gastric illness.

All holidays were booked through tour operator Tui.

Jatinder Paul, the specialist international serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing those affected said: 

“It’s staggering that we continue to be contacted by hundreds more people reporting how their holidays have been ruined by serious illness. Nothing brings the impact of these incidents into sharper focus than the deaths of British holidaymakers.

 

“The first-hand accounts from those who have lost loved ones are not only incredibly stark but harrowing.

 

“Our focus is now on securing our clients the answers they deserve, and where needed, either the support they require to come to terms with their loss or the specialist rehabilitation they require to try and overcome the impact of their illnesses the best they can.”

Other deaths linked to Cape Verde holidays

The other British holidaymakers to have died after holidays in Cape Verde since January 2023 include part-time nurse and mum-of-one Elena Walsh, 64, from Birmingham, who died in August 2025 after falling ill at the Riu Cabo Verde resort in Sal; and Jane Pressley, 62, of Gainsborough, who died in January 2023 after staying at the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal.

Mark Ashley, 55, from Houghton Regis, Bedfordshire, died in November 2025 after a holiday at the Riu Palace Hotel in Santa Maria, Sal; while Karen Pooley, 64, from Lydney, Gloucestershire, died in October 2025 after falling ill while staying at the Riu Funana resort in Sal.

A man in his 50s from County Durham, died in November 2025 after staying at the Riu Palace Santa Maria on Sal. Meanwhile, Irwin Mitchell is also representing the families of two men, aged in their 60s and 50s, who died in November 2024 and November 2025 respectively after suffering gastric illness while staying at the Riu Karamboa in Boa Vista.

Lincolnshire man buried in Cape Verde after dying on holiday to Riu Funana

Jacqueline Timson has spoken for the first time about the loss of her husband, Colin, who died the day after falling ill in Cape Verde.

The couple from Heighington, near Lincoln, spent over £2,000 on a two-week holiday to the Riu Funana resort. On the second day of their holiday, Colin started suffering with sickness and diarrhoea. Jacqueline returned from breakfast the following morning to find her husband collapsed.

The retired forklift driver was taken to a clinic and then hospital but died aged 74 that evening.

A death certificate from the Cape Verde authorities said Colin’s cause of death was dehydration, severe anaemia and septic shock caused by acute gastroenteritis and digestive bleeding.

Jacqueline, who also fell ill with diarrhoea and stomach cramps, said she had to bury Colin in Cape Verde three days after he died on 8 July, 2024.

Jacqueline reveals how she had to leave Colin thousands of miles from home

Retired factory worker, Jacqueline, aged 69, said: 

“We’d been to Cape Verde before and were looking forward to returning. However, when we arrived at the hotel we didn’t feel it was the same standard we’d found on our previous holiday to Cape Verde.

 

“Some of the food appeared to be undercooked and was lukewarm. The toilets round the pool were full of dead cockroaches and we didn’t go in the pool because the water looked yellow.

 

“We both fell ill at the same time, but I wasn’t as bad as Colin, who was vomiting yellow sick.

 

“I went to breakfast and came back to the room to find him collapsed. When he left the clinic to go to hospital I went back to the hotel as I was told Colin would be in safe hands and to visit him the following day.

 

“I didn’t even know he’d died until I arrived at the hospital the following day. When I heard the news my world fell apart. Everything was a blur, but I believed I didn’t have adequate travel insurance, and I thought it would have been too expensive to fly Colin home. I was told that there wasn’t an option to have a cremation in Cape Verde so I had to watch helplessly as he was buried.

 

“After Colin’s funeral I stayed in the hotel for more than a week. My son flew out to be with me, and we went to visit Colin’s grave.  I wanted to go home but also did not want to leave as Colin would not be returning with me.

 

“Colin was a wonderful husband. He was a kind and gentle man and didn’t deserve to die in the way he did.  

 

“I still can’t comprehend how we went on holiday together, but Colin never came home. The hardest thing is that I couldn’t even bring his ashes home to be alongside me. Instead, he’s buried in an unmarked grave, alone, thousands of miles away from his family.

 

" I still wake up in the night thinking about Colin and I would not want anyone to have to go through what we have gone through.”

Scottish man dies during holiday to Meliá Llana Beach Resort and Spa

The daughter of a Scottish man who died suddenly while on holiday in Cape Verde has spoken of her family’s devastation as they seek answers over his death.

Laurence Brownlie travelled to the five-star Meliá Llana Beach Resort and Spa in Cape Verde with his wife, Glenna Brownlie, 66, for a two-week holiday when he became unwell on 5 June, 2024.

The 67-year-old, known as Laurie, became more unwell and spent much of 8 June in his room. That evening, after going to dinner, he told his wife he felt unwell, stood up from the table and collapsed.

Flight crew dining nearby began CPR and continued for around 20 minutes, but they were unable to revive him. 

After Laurie died, his three daughters, Sarah, 40; Erin, 34; and 33-year-old Caitlin, flew to Cape Verde to support their mum. The family were then unable to see him before his body was returned to the UK. 

Laurie, a retired IT engineer from West Calder in West Lothian, was found to have died from a suspected heart attack, according to a death certificate issued by the Cape Verde authorities.

His family have raised concerns over conditions at the resort, including reports of flies in food, and that there was no defibrillator available at the hotel.

Laurie's family pay tribute to amazing dad

Speaking on behalf of the family, Erin, said: 

“It remains difficult not to think how Dad should have been coming home with mum at the end of their holiday. Instead, our family was left devastated and trying to come to terms with losing him so suddenly in such traumatic circumstances. I can’t imagine how harrowing it must have been for my mum seeing her soulmate pass away in front of her. 

“We’ll forever be grateful to those in the hotel who tried to help Dad, but what happened has left us with so many unanswered questions. Nothing will ever take away the pain of knowing he died so far from home.

“As well as grieving for Dad, we had to deal with the shock of flying out to be with Mum, not being able to see him, and then facing the journey of bringing him back to Scotland. It’s something no family should ever have to go through.

“Dad was the head of our family and the person all of us looked up to for support and guidance. He was an amazing dad and nothing was ever too much trouble for him.

“Initially we thought what happened to Dad may be an isolated incident but we’re hearing too many stories of people suffering serious illness or even dying on holidays in Cape Verde. The least we now owe Dad is to honour his memory by establishing answers he deserves.”