Woman forced to bury husband in Cape Verde after he fell ill and died while on holiday

A British woman said she was forced to bury her husband in an unmarked grave after he fell ill and died in Cape Verde.

Retired forklift driver Colin Timson, 74, from Heighington, Darlington, became unwell on the second day of his two-week stay at the Riu Funana resort in Sal in July 2024.

His wife Jacqueline, 69, said that she found him collapsed the next morning. Mr Timson died in hospital that evening.

Mrs Timsom, who also fell ill, said she had to bury her husband in an unmarked grave three days after his death.

According to lawyers representing the family, a death certificate from the Cape Verde authorities said his cause of death was dehydration, severe anaemia and septic shock caused by acute gastroenteritis and digestive bleeding.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell is working with Mrs Timson and thousands of others in claims against travel operators and hotels in the country since 2022.

'I had to watch helplessly'

Mrs Timsom said that she and her husband had been to Cape Verde before, but when they arrived at their hotel in 2024, "we didn't feel it was the same standard we'd found on our previous holiday".

"Some of the food appeared to be undercooked and was lukewarm," she added. "The toilets round the pool were full of dead cockroaches, and we didn't go in the pool because the water looked yellow.

"We both fell ill at the same time, but I wasn't as bad as Colin, who was vomiting yellow sick. When he left the clinic to go to hospital, I went back to the hotel as I was told Colin would be in safe hands and to visit him the following day.

"I didn't even know he'd died until I arrived at the hospital the following day. When I heard the news, my world fell apart."

Mrs Timsom said she believed she did not have adequate travel insurance to repatriate her husband's body back home, "and I thought it would have been too expensive".

"I was told that there wasn't an option to have a cremation in Cape Verde so I had to watch helplessly as he was buried."

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Mrs Timsom and more than 2,500 others have complained of illnesses - such as salmonella, E.coli and shigella - after holidays in the West African country since summer 2022.

Among them are the families of 10 people who died of gastric illnesses while on holidays booked through Tui, the law firm said.

The law firm said it is planning legal action against Tui.

'Harrowing experience'

In a separate incident in June 2024, Laurence Brownlie, 67, a retired IT engineer from West Lothian, Scotland, became unwell on a holiday in Cape Verde with his wife, Glenna, 66.

Three days after falling ill, Mr Brownlie collapsed at a dinner table and later died, with a death certificate issued by the Cape Verde authorities saying it was of a suspected heart attack.

His family have concerns about conditions at the resort, including reports of flies in food and the absence of a defibrillator, the law firm said.

His daughter Erin, 34, said: "I can't imagine how harrowing it must have been for my mum seeing her soulmate pass away in front of her."

In a statement, a spokesperson for Tui said: "Our thoughts remain with both families. As we would for any family facing a serious incident or bereavement while travelling with us, Tui's local representatives offered support and assistance in resort at the time.

"Neither family raised any complaint or concern with Tui, either during their holiday or after returning home, and Tui received no communication about either case until today, when we were contacted by media.

"As this is now a legal matter, it would not be appropriate for us to comment further."

Sky News has also contacted Riu Hotels & Resorts and Melia Hotels & Resorts for comment.

Jatinder Paul, serious injury lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: "Our focus is now on securing our clients the answers they deserve and, where needed, either the support they require to come to terms with their loss or the specialist rehabilitation they require to try and overcome the impact of their illnesses the best they can."

(c) Sky News 2026: Woman forced to bury husband in Cape Verde after he fell ill and died while on holiday