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Two Danes dead in mysterious circumstances in Egypt
Christian Wenande
January 16th, 2019
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This article is more than 5 years old.
The friends died days apart in touristy town
Looks tranquil enough, but what dangers lurk in the still waters and sunshine? (photo: Elysees Dream Beach Hotel)
News has emerged that two Danish men from Esbjerg died under mysterious circumstances while on holiday in Egypt at the turn of the year.
The two men, who were friends staying in the touristy town of Hurghada, died just two days apart at their hotel, the Elysees Dream Beach Hotel.
Verner Strunck, 65, was found dead in his bed on December 31, while his friend Leif Kristensen was found dead in his bed just two days later on January 2.
No cause of death has been uncovered in either case, but there are suspicions that they’ve been poisoned, eaten contaminated food or – most likely – succumbed to bacteria from air conditioning systems in their rooms.
Friends and families of both men were shocked at the deaths of Strunck and Kristensen, who were both healthy and well.
READ MORE: ‘Bookseller from Brønshøj’ shipped out of Denmark
Not the first time
The body of Strunck arrived home in Esbjerg on Monday this week, while Kristensen’s body remains in Egypt. Strunck’s son Alex has tried in vain to get an explanation from the Egyptian authorities regarding his father’s death.
“I’ve tried to get an autopsy of my father, as it might ease things if I know the cause of death. There wasn’t anything wrong with him and I spoke with his friend, Lief Kristensen, on New Year’s Day after my father died, and Leif was very sad and shocked,” Alex Strunck told BT tabloid.
“But a few days later, when I discovered that Leif had died in his bed as well, the whole thing sounded even more mysterious.”
Just a few months earlier, a British couple suffered a similar fate in the same city, and it was suspected that a bacteria-ridden air conditioner could have been to blame – specifically Legionnaire’s disease, according to media reports. The British travel agency in that case proceeded to evacuate all their guests at the hotel.
READ MORE: Egyptian rage over Danish nude photo-shoot on ancient pyramid
Another measles case
A child from the Herning area in Jutland is being treated after contracting measles while on a trip to Romania.
According to the State Serum Institute (SSI), the child flew from Bucharest to Billund on WizzAir flight W63211 on Saturday night and all passengers on that flight should be checked for the viral infection.
“Passengers on this flight who are not immune, haven’t had the illness before or been vaccinated, should contact and inform their doctors that they’ve been exposed to measles,” said SSI.
Moreover, SSI urged anyone at Billund Airport on Saturday night from 21:30 to about 22:30 to contact their doctors if they believe they could have been exposed.
Measles has been eradicated in Denmark since 2017, but occasionally there are cases involving people being infected abroad and then exposing others to the very contagious infection back home. According to SSI, most people born before 1974 have had measles.
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