All three Americans who became ill and died at a Sandals resort in the Bahamas had sought hospital treatment the night before, Bahamas authorities said Monday.
They also identified the victims. In addition to 64-year-old Vincent Chiarella of Birmingham, Alabama, and his wife, Donnis Chiarella, 65 — who survived and has been airlifted to a Miami hospital — were Michael Phillips, 68, and Robbie Phillips, 65, of Tennessee. The Chiarellas were first identified by their son.
The commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force said Sunday that the woman is hospitalized in serious condition, CNN reported.
That has since been upgraded from serious to fair, Jennifer Guerrieri, a spokesperson for Hospital Corporation of America’s east Florida division, told CNN on Monday.
Officials continue to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the deaths and injury at Sandals Emerald Bay on Exuma last Friday, in particular the fact that they had experienced symptoms the night before.
“They were all treated at different times, and they ate at different places,” Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle said at a press conference Monday, according to USA Today. “We are checking all of that, and hopefully we will be able to determine whether it was some food or something else that caused it.”
Vincent and Donnis Chiarella, both in their mid-60s, were celebrating their anniversary in the Bahamas, their son said.
“She woke up and my dad was laying there on the floor, and she couldn’t move,” Austin Chiarella told ABC News. “Her legs and arms was swollen and she couldn’t move and she screamed to get someone to come in the door.”
The three bodies were discovered at two different villas at the resort, according to authorities. A man and a woman were found unresponsive at one of the villas and showed “signs of convulsion,” police said.
Officials say the bodies didn’t show signs of trauma, while Bahamas Acting Prime Minister Chester Cooper said he was told “foul play is not suspected.”
____
