Police in Sri Lanka are investigating whether a British woman died of pesticide poisoning after her hostel was fumigated for bed bugs.
Ebony McIntosh, 24, from Derby, was taken to hospital in Colombo suffering vomiting, nausea and breathing difficulties on Saturday 1 February, but died several hours later.
Another woman, a 26-year-old from Germany, who was also staying at the Miracle Colombo City Hostel, also died, Sri Lanka police said.
A police spokesman said one of the hostel’s rooms had been fumigated for bed bugs before the women fell ill and they are investigating whether they were poisoned by noxious pesticides.
In a statement on a GoFundMe page to raise money to fly family members out to Sri Lanka and to bring Ebony home, her family said Ebony flew from Heathrow on 28 January to ‘follow her dreams of travelling all over South Asia, starting in Sri Lanka’.
“She passed away with someone from the hostel beside her. We are endlessly grateful to this man for staying with her during her last moments,” the statement said.
A cause of death has not been established and a post-mortem examination cannot take place until the family arrives on 10 February, police said.
A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson confirmed: “We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Sri Lanka, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The GoFundMe campaign has raised more than £45,000.
