A fourth American individual, a woman, was taken to a Miami hospital in serious condition after she was found in a villa with one of the men who died, Royal Bahamas Police Commissioner General Paul Rolle said on Sunday. The woman, whose identity has not been revealed, was airlifted to a hospital in the Bahamas capital.
The interim Prime Minister of the Bahamas, Chester Cooper, stated that there is no suspicion of a criminal act. However, authorities are waiting until “official identification” is complete before releasing their names, according to Rolle. Authorities were continuing an investigation Sunday to determine the cause of death.
The three deaths at the Sandals Emerald Bay resort in Great Exuma were confirmed by Sandals spokeswoman Stacy Royal and the US State Department.
“We are closely monitoring the local investigation into the cause of death. We are prepared to provide all necessary consular assistance,” the State Department said in a statement. “Out of respect for the privacy of the families, we have no further to add in this moment”.
Resort staff alerted police shortly after 9 a.m. Friday that an unconscious man was found in a villa, according to police. On the way to the scene, they informed the police of the discovery of another unconscious man and woman in another village, according to the statement.
Police found an “unconscious Caucasian male on the floor” with no signs of trauma in the first villa. A doctor pronounced him dead, according to police.
In the second villa, they found a man “slumped against a wall in the bathroom, unconscious” and the woman was found “in a bedroom, on the bed,” according to the statement.
“Both showed signs of seizures,” according to the statement. Neither showed signs of trauma. They were also pronounced dead by a doctor.
The man and woman from the second villa “had complained of feeling sick the night before” and had received treatment at a local health service before returning to their room, according to police.
Cooper asked the nation’s health and welfare minister to lead a delegation of health, environment and public works officials to the Exuma district.
“Nothing is more important to Sandals Resorts than the safety of our guests,” the resort said in a statement, adding that it is actively working to “support both the investigation and the families of guests in any way possible.”
Sandals can’t share any more information “out of respect for the privacy of our guests,” it said.