Three-year-old dies of ‘apparent food poisoning’; mother, sister in ICU

AMMAN — Three-year-old Eziddin Oweiwi had his last supper on Tuesday.

After having dinner with his family at the Holiday Inn Resort Dead Sea, Eziddin, along with his parents and sister, “started exhibiting symptoms of food poisoning”.

“Eziddin, his father, mother and eight-month-old sister suffered from high fever and stomach pains and kept vomiting immediately after dinner,” Ashraf Oweiwi, the boy’s uncle, told The Jordan Times over the phone on Wednesday.

The resort’s nurse was called to check on their situation and the family was taken to Southern Shuneh Hospital, he added.

“The resident doctor maintained that they had food poisoning and referred them to a hospital in Amman for gastric lavage, as it could not be performed at the Shuneh hospital,” Oweiwi said, adding that the physician gave them an injection to relieve the symptoms until they reached the capital.

On the way, Eziddin died in his parents’ arms, leaving them in complete shock and denial, the uncle said, noting that the father is in “good shape now”, but the mother and sister are in the intensive care unit.

“We are not sure if they are going to make it.” While the initial forensic report attributed the boy’s death to food poisoning, the final, conclusive results will be revealed in about two weeks.

Hotel Manager Bassam Abu Hassan said an investigation is ongoing into the incident.

“This has been a most tragic and unfortunate incident and we are working with authorities to determine the cause,” Abu Hassan said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this difficult time,” he said, adding that the hotel is “taking this matter very seriously and although no other guests have been affected, we are performing a full internal review to ensure we safeguard the health and safety of our guests as this is paramount to us”.