‘Pulmonary edema’ killed trio of female tourists at San Pedro resort; cause still under investigation

Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2025. 9:15 pm CST.

By Aaron Humes: The deaths of Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafae El-Arar, 26, all found dead in their hotel suite on Saturday morning – have shocked the world.

Today, police have indicated that they are closer to identifying the cause of the women’s deaths, though not much closer.

Executive Director of the National Forensic Science Service, Gian Cho, told WBZ-TV/CBS News Boston that “The lead examiner concluded the terminal cause of death to be acute pulmonary edema… and what led to acute pulmonary oedema is what is pending investigation.” Pulmonary edema is excessive build-up of fluid in the lungs, which may have several causes.

Colin Gillet, Fire Chief of the Belize National Fire Service, confirmed that officers conducted two separate tests for carbon monoxide and “found nothing,” appearing to rule that out as a cause.

Cho explained, “In terms of a final time or period where the [solids] will be completed, as I mentioned this week we will be starting on the suspected controlled substances; next week, toxicology should start and that can run 14 days, and then after that we will do the histology and the histology could take about 14 days, so we are looking at roughly a month from now where we should be able to have scientific information to support a cause of death, further details of the cause of death.” Alcohol and gummies were discovered in the room, and forensic tests on these items are being analyzed to uncover any potential links to the deaths; those tests will take place outside of Belize.

Police Commissioner Chester Williams reaffirmed that physical trauma was not observed, as there were “no signs of violence on the bodies of the 3 young women.” Williams added that the vomit found beside each woman led investigators to suspect drug overdose.

As to Belize’s relative safety, the Commissioner pointed out that nothing to date suggests Belizeans were involved in the women’s deaths or that they were suspicious, and that the resort has never had such an incident before.

Therefore, he was willing to play pitch man and invite Americans and others to come, visit and feel safe doing so: “Certainly, I would maintain that Belize is a relatively safe country; I could tell you that we rank among the countries with the least incidents against tourists…anybody watching and may have hope of coming to Belize, I would invite them to keep the hope and make the trip – we are a friendly nation; our people are from different walks of life; we are like a melting pot, you can find almost every ethnicity in Belize and though we are from different walks of life and different ethnicities, we live together as one and that’s what makes us very unique and friendly.”

But he put back on his cop’s hat to affirm, “It is important for us to arrive at the definitive cause of death and what led to that cause of death, not just for the satisfaction of the family members who are grieving, but for us as a nation,”

The women were residents of Revere City, Massachusetts, whose Mayor issued a public statement acknowledging the skepticism of the families of the deceased and pointed out, inconveniently, that Belize is under an increased warning level for travel by Americans from the U.S. State Department urging caution.

 

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The post ‘Pulmonary edema’ killed trio of female tourists at San Pedro resort; cause still under investigation appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.

Posted: Wednesday, February 26, 2025. 9:15 pm CST. By Aaron Humes: The deaths of Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafae El-Arar, 26, all found
The post ‘Pulmonary edema’ killed trio of female tourists at San Pedro resort; cause still under investigation appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.