Bahamas Sandals deaths: Victims identified
Authorities in the Bahamas has identified the three U.S. tourists who were found dead at a Sandals resort.
Authorities in the Bahamas have identified the three U.S. tourists who were found dead at a resort on the Atlantic island nation. The deaths occurred Friday at the Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma.
At a Monday afternoon news conference, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said that the victims in one room were Michael Phillips, 68, and Robbie Phillips, 65. The couple was on a vacation from Tennessee.
The third victim is Vincent Paul Chiarella, 64, from Florida. His wife Donnis Chiarella, 65, survived and was airlifted to a Florida hospital for treatment. She was listed in serious condition.
A lab in Philadelphia is conducting a toxicological examination on samples provided by the Royal Bahamas Police Force. Police would not speculate on the cause of their deaths until the lab results were returned.
After the deaths, Sandals Resorts said it was "actively working to support both the investigation as well as the guests’ families in every way possible."
The health minister said that all four had gone to a clinic at various times on Thursday evening complaining of nausea and vomiting. They were treated and left to go back to their villa.
"On their arrival at the scene, they were directed to the first villa. On entering a bedroom, they found a caucasian male laying on the ground unresponsive," the Royal Bahama Police Force said in a statement posted to Twitter. "An examination of the body was conducted, there was no signs of trauma found. The local doctor later pronounced the victim dead."
The officers then proceeded to a second villa where they found another man unresponsive and "slumped the wall in the bathroom." A woman was also found unresponsive in a bedroom on a bed.
Both individuals reportedly showed signs of "convulsion."
The couples had eaten at different restaurants the night they became ill. Police would not confirm that they were narrowing in on the air conditioning units in the villas, only saying that samples had been gathered in the rooms for examination by the lab.
Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.