Three Americans died suddenly and a fourth has been hospitalized at a luxury Sandals resort in the Bahamas, authorities said Friday.
The dead victims, two men and one woman reportedly in their 60s, were not identified, nor was the hospitalized guest. They were found in their villas at the Sandals Emerald Bay resort on the island of Great Exuma, according to Bahamas Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper, who insisted foul play is not suspected.
“It is with deep sadness that we can confirm the passing of three guests at Sandals Emerald Bay on May 6, 2022,” Stacy Royal, a spokesperson for Sandals, said in a statement. “A health emergency was initially reported and following our protocols we immediately alerted emergency medical professionals and relevant local authorities.”
Resort staff called George Town police Friday morning to say there was an unconscious guest in one of the resort’s beachfront villas, which rent for as much as $1,000 per person, per night.
“On their arrival at the scene they were directed to the first villa,” the Royal Bahama Police Force said in a tweet. “On entering a bedroom, they found a caucasian male laying on the ground unresponsive. An examination of the body was conducted, there was no signs of trauma found. The local doctor later pronounced the victim dead.”
JUST IN: The air ambulance carrying an American woman who is being transported to Princess Margaret Hospital from Exuma, touched down in New Providence just after 7pm today.
Sandals Emerald Bay officials in Exuma released a statement confirming that three other guests had died. pic.twitter.com/Ke4QvM3ABq
— Our News Bahamas (@OurNewsRev) May 7, 2022
Police went to a second villa where they found a dead couple, a man in the bathroom and a woman on the bed. Both had suffered convulsions, but bore no signs of trauma.
Authorities said the couple had experienced nausea and vomiting Thursday and been treated at a local medical facility.
Breaking: Three Americans were found dead at Bahamas Sandals resort, a 5-star hotel, after becoming ill. Multiple people from the hotel visited a clinic after experiencing vomiting and nausea on the same day.
— PM Breaking News (@PMBreakingNews) May 7, 2022
The deaths prompted authorities to prepare for a possible outbreak, according to Bahamas Health Minister Dr. Michael Darville.
“We thought we might have to make a makeshift facility, a mini hospital,” Darville told a local TV station Saturday, adding that it proved unnecessary. “We believe it’s an isolated situation that revolves around four people.”
Little was known of the fourth victim, although the Our News Bahamas TV station tweeted video of a plane that it said carried an American woman to Princess Margaret Hospital in Nassau.
An autopsy report was pending to determine the cause of the deaths, according to the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Jamaica-based Sandals operates several resorts in Jamaica, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean.
“We are actively working to support both the investigation and the guests’ families in every way possible during this difficult time,” Sandals said in a statement. “Out of respect for the privacy of our guests, we cannot disclose further information at this time.”