A British female tourist, 24, has died in Sri Lanka after a room in her hostel was fumigated for bed bugs, local police said.
Ebony McIntosh, from Derby, was rushed to hospital in the capital Colombo on Saturday after suffering from vomiting, nausea and breathing difficulties.
The social media manager, who had 10,000 Instagram followers, died just three hours later at the hospital.
The influencer was just days into the first week of her ‘dream holiday’ as tributes describe her as the « kindest, funniest, and most determined person ».
Ebony started her holiday on January 28 when she flew from Heathrow to « follow her dreams of travelling all over South Asia, starting in Sri Lanka ».
Her cause of death has not yet been identified as a post-mortem examination will take place after her family arrive in the South Asian country on Monday February 10.
The British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: « We are supporting the family of a British woman who died in Sri Lanka, and are in contact with the local authorities. »
Another woman Nadie Raguse, 26, from Germany, who was also staying at the Miracle Colombo City Hostel has also died, after being rushed to hospital with similar symptoms before passing away, Sri Lanka police confirmed.
The force’s spokesperson Buddhika Manatunga said a room in the hostel had been fumigated for bed bugs before the women fell ill – and that they are investigating the possibility of poisoning by noxious pesticides.
Police spokesman Buddhika Manatunga told reporters that a room in the hostel had been fumigated to treat bed bugs on January 30, then sealed for 72 hours before the incidents occurred.
The hostel has now been shut down until further notice.
The digital marketing and social media manager’s « heartbroken » family has set up a GoFundMe page to help with the cost of returning her body to the UK.
A statement on the page read: « We are absolutely heartbroken to share that our beautiful baby girl and big sister Ebony has passed away unexpectedly on Saturday 1st February 2025, thousands of miles away from home.
« Words cannot begin to express how broken we are, it’s been like a nightmare since we found out on Sunday morning, we have prayed and prayed that this can’t be true. It couldn’t possibly happen to our lovely Ebs. »
The statement added: « We cannot even begin to imagine how scared she must have felt at the time and it hurts us so badly to think of the pain she was in. We need to be with her and bring her home safely.
« 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. »
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