Tour staff on trial over two deaths
04/03/2010
Two tour firm employees accused of manslaughter and negligence are to resume their trial over the deaths of a young brother and sister from Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
Richard Carson and Nicola Gibson, who worked for Thomas Cook at the time of the incident, are due to appear at the Corfu Town courthouse, Greece.
Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her brother Robert, six, were overcome by carbon monoxide fumes on a family holiday in Corfu in October 2006. The fumes are believed to have leaked from a next-door room into their apartment. Their father, Neil Shepherd, and his partner, Ruth Beatson, survived the fumes which put both of them into a coma. The family had booked the bungalow apartment for a half-term break.
Carson and Gibson are accused of causing manslaughter by negligence in relation to the children, and of causing bodily injury by negligence to Mr Shepherd and Ms Beatson. A spokesman for Thomas Cook said the accident was "unique and unforeseeable" and was not the fault of either Carson or Gibson.
Ten Greeks, including staff from the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in Gouvia, where the family was staying, are also due to be tried.
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