GUILTY Greece - Christianne, 7, & Robert Shepherd, 6, die of CO poisoning, 25 Oct 2006

Floh

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How terribly, terribly tragic. :(

The Greek tourist industry has reacted with shock to the deaths of two British children who fell victim to carbon monoxide poisoning at a hotel in Corfu.
Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her six-year-old brother Robert died on Thursday at their holiday bungalow.
The hotel owner, manager and two maintenance staff face up to five years in jail if convicted of manslaughter.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6095782.stm

The father whose two children died beside him from poison fumes in their holiday hotel has become fully conscious for the first time.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-6178535,00.html

"Sadness and devastation" at dead children's school

"Christie and Bobby were two beautiful children who added so much to our school. Christie was a very bright and able little girl, who was adored by her friends. Bobby was a quiet little boy who was very caring to everyone around him. He was also very popular with his classmates, and I will always remember the friendly and polite way he greeted me on the corridor.
"We are a very caring school in a caring community and at this tragic time we will be supporting the children and each other. Members of staff, some of whom are trained counselors, will be on hand for pupils, other staff and parents who are affected by the sad events when the children return to school and into the future."


http://www.wakefieldtoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=702&ArticleID=1847587


It would seem Sharon Wood and Neil Shephard, the children's parents were divorced and Neil had taken the children on holiday. What a terrible disaster. from what i've read, until Neil was out of danger in hospital he wasn't told of the children's deaths. their mother flew out to see them in the mortuary.

this is here in Crimes in the News to highlight the dangers of cheap holiday options and some rooms-for-rent can be deathtraps.
 
in Greece, do they not put that distinct smell in gas, so you can tell when it's leaking? i assumed that was a world-wide thing.
 
reb said:
in Greece, do they not put that distinct smell in gas, so you can tell when it's leaking? i assumed that was a world-wide thing.

No. it can still happen in Britain. and Germany. those i know about. others?
 
Carbon monoxide gas is odorless - it kills people in the US as well. Very sad situation to say the least.
 
reb said:
in Greece, do they not put that distinct smell in gas, so you can tell when it's leaking? i assumed that was a world-wide thing.
I think the newspapers were mistaken when they said gas leak, or the gas leak was incidental. They died of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is completely different from the gas that heaters and stoves use. (It's a byproduct of incomplete combustion, and cars make it too.) The room should have had a carbon monoxide detector, since as another person stated, carbon monoxide is odorless. Your house should have at least one as well, it's vital and could very well save the lives of your household.

carbonmonoxidekills.com said:
Where does carbon monoxide come from?

Carbon monoxide is produced by the incomplete combustion of carbon-containing fuels, such as gas (domestic or bottled), coal, oil, coke and wood. Gas stoves, fires, heating boilers, gas-powered water heaters, paraffin heaters, and solid fuel-powered water heaters are all potential sources of carbon monoxide. The problem arises when such appliances are poorly maintained, not serviced and housed in poorly ventilated areas.
ETA: Hmm, ok maybe the carbon monoxide was present because of a gas leak. According to this article "town gas" has carbon monoxide mixed into it. I was not aware of this. If the place used town gas, and not natural gas then yes, a gas leak could have been the cause. My bad...
 
Briton tells how fumes killed children in Corfu

The father of two British children who died after being poisoned by fumes last week as they slept in a holiday chalet on Corfu yesterday told Greek police how he tried to save his daughter before she died in his arms holding her favourite doll.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1936303,00.html

Tears won't stop coming here. :(

It was not until Sunday that his brother, at the prompting of psychologists, broke the news of his children's deaths. Ms Beatson, who regained consciousness earlier, was told on Saturday.
 
An inquest in England has just found that travel company Thomas Cook 'breached its duty of care' in 2006 when Bobbi Shepherd, 6, and his sister Christi Shepherd, 7, were killed by Carbon Monoxide poisoning from a faulty heater while on vacation with their parents in Corfu in 2006. The children, the jury decided, were 'unlawfully killed'. Their parents survived.

Travel company Thomas Cook, which has been widely criticised for failing to apologise to the parents, has now revealed it received a payout, thought to be around $5 million (£3.5 million) in 2013, for the tragedy and associated costs. The bereaved parents received just $550,000 (£350,000).

Three employees of the Louis Corcyra Hotel where the children died were found guilty of manslaughter at a 2010 trial.

Thomas Cook CEO Peter Fanhauser says a letter saying sorry has now been sent to parents Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/corfu-deaths-parents-blast-thomas-5712320

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...-payout-over-corfu-gas-deaths-10255875.html?D

Here's a link to the 2006 thread about the original tragedy in 2006.
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?44281-Greek-child-deaths-stun-tourist-firms
 

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From May 2010:

http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/may/04/thomas-cook-not-guilty-corfu-deaths

The parents of two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning were yesterday "beyond disappointment" after a Greek court found two Thomas Cook employees not guilty of manslaughter by negligence...

Three judges in a court on the island cleared Richard Carson, 28, and Nicola Gibson, 26; they said the pair were misinformed by the hotel manager there was no gas used in the bungalows, and were not responsible for "bringing about the lethal outcome"...

Hotel manager Georgios Chrysikopoulos, the head of the hotel technical department, Petros Stoyiannos, and the hotel electrician, Christos Louvros, were each sentenced to seven years in prison. Civil engineer Dimitrios Xidias was given two years on probation.
 

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