Three US tourists die in Bahamas resort after taking ill

Three US tourists have died at a resort in the Bahamas after falling ill and another was airlifted to a hospital for treatment, island officials say.

Police were investigating and the cause of death was unknown but foul play “is not suspected”, the Bahamian acting prime minister, Chester Cooper, said in a statement on Friday.

Their identities were not initially made public.

The health minister, Dr Michael Darville, told Eyewitness News Bahamas on Saturday that some hotel guests went to a clinic on Thursday with nausea and vomiting, were treated and left. Three were later found dead. A fourth was flown to a hospital in New Providence.

He said environmental health scientists, physicians and others were investigating to ensure there was not a public health hazard in the Atlantic island nation.

“We feel that what we are seeing is an isolated case associated in a particular area,” Darville said, adding that investigators were doing toxicology and blood tests to help determine the cause of the illness.

The head of communications for the prime minister’s office, Latrae L Rahming, tweeted that the deaths occurred at Sandals Emerald Bay in Exuma.

A representative for Sandals confirmed the deaths in a statement to People Magazine and said the company was “actively working to support both the investigation as well as the guests’ families in every way possible”.

There was no immediate further response to an inquiry to the hotel company on Saturday.