Widow buries husband in unmarked grave in Cape Verde

A British widow has revealed she was forced to bury her husband in an unmarked grave in Cape Verde after he died from a sudden illness during a package holiday in July 2024. The case is part of a growing legal action involving thousands of tourists who have reported serious illnesses after visiting the West African country.

Colin Timson, a 74-year-old retired forklift driver from Heighington, near Lincoln, fell ill on the second day of a two-week stay at the Riu Funana resort on the island of Sal with his wife, Jacqueline, 69. The next morning, she found him collapsed. He was taken to a clinic and then a hospital, where he died that evening. According to a death certificate from Cape Verde authorities, his cause of death was dehydration, severe anaemia, and septic shock caused by acute gastroenteritis and digestive bleeding.

Jacqueline Timson, who also fell ill, said she had to bury her husband in an unmarked grave just three days after his death. She believed her travel insurance was inadequate to cover repatriating his body and said she was told cremation was not an option in Cape Verde. She described the resort conditions, stating that some food appeared undercooked and...