London, UK

Tour operator Thomas Cook moved all its customers from a hotel in Egypt after a British couple staying there died in circumstances their daughter on Friday called "suspicious".

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The company said it was unclear what had caused the deaths on Tuesday of the Britons, named by Egyptian authorities as 69-year-old John and Susan Cooper, 63, from the town of Burnley in northern England.

The family had been staying at the plush Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada.

Kelly Ormerod said both her parents fell ill suddenly, and her father had died in his hotel room while her mother passed away hours later in hospital.

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"They had no illness, no stomach upset, no vomiting, no illness whatsoever -- they were in perfect health when they went to bed," she told Sky News.

"I watched them die before my very eyes and they had exactly the same symptoms.

"I believe something suspicious has gone on... something has happened in that room and caused them to be taken away from us."

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Ormerod added the family were in "utter shock" and "devastated".

Thomas Cook said it was "deeply saddened" by the deaths, while adding the circumstances "remain unclear".

Company 'fobbed off' guests

Red Sea regional governor Ahmad Abdallah told AFP there was no "criminal motive" behind the deaths.

The tour company said Thursday it had received reports of "a raised level of illness" among some of its other 300 customers at the Steigenberger.

"Safety is always our first priority, so as a precautionary measure we have taken a decision to remove all our customers from this hotel," a spokesperson added.

It had given guests the choice of relocating to another hotel in Hurghada or returning home and almost all had decided to leave Egypt on Friday, according to the company. 

The BBC said there were a total of 1,600 guests at the hotel.

Alison Cope, a Thomas Cook customer staying at the Steigenberger, said the company had "fobbed off" guests who had complained "about sickness, illness, low level standards of the food, the hygiene of the glasses".

Cope, from Birmingham in England, said her group were returning home Friday night.

'Heart attack'

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism said a medical examination showed that John Cooper "experienced an extreme drop in the blood circulation and a sudden stop of the heart muscle".

An Egyptian security official added he died "of a heart attack" before reaching hospital, while his wife passed away four hours later.

A health inspector examined Cooper's body "and documented in his report that the cause of death is the halt of the blood circulation and her respiratory functions, and that there was no criminal suspicion," according to the tourism ministry.

"She fell ill with fatigue and sadness and was transferred to the hospital and died," the security official said, adding their bodies "have been handed over to the prosecution".

Investigators from the local prosecutor's office reviewed both bodies and the couple's hotel room and found nothing abnormal, according to a judicial source.

"An (initial) autopsy found no signs of criminal violence or of a struggle," the Egyptian Prosecutor General's Office said. 

"The necessary samples were taken so laboratory tests can be run to determine the cause of death."

96-per cent rating

Dieter Geiger, general manager at Steigenberger Aqua Magic, told AFP the hotel was "deeply saddened" by the incident.

He added: "The doctor's preliminary report indicates that death was due to natural causes. There are no indications to support allegations of an increased incidence of illness at the hotel."

Britain's foreign ministry said it was assisting the deceased couple's family.

"We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in Hurghada, Egypt and we are in contact with the local tour operator," it said in a statement.

Thomas Cook said customers due to travel in the coming weeks to the hotel -- which the tour operator gave a 96-per cent rating in an audit last month -- would be offered alternative holidays.

Egypt's key tourism industry has been recovering from a devastating blow in 2015 when jihadists bombed a Russian airliner carrying holidaymakers from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 on board.