Authorities continue to investigate the deaths of three American women at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro, with new information emerging about potential carbon monoxide exposure.
The women—Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, Imane Mallah, 24, and Wafae El Arar, 26—were found dead in their room on February 22. While initial reports suggested drug overdoses, their families expressed scepticism. A second autopsy in the U.S. reportedly indicates carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause of death.
Police Commissioner Chester Williams told reporters that “we had a meeting whereby we had representatives from the police. We had from the fire department, the environment, and even from the Ministry of Health. And it was agreed that a second round of testing be done at the hotel.”
“This was after we had received reports from some previous guests at the hotel, who had indicated that while they were there, they had done some tests with their own carbon monoxide test, and they had detected carbon monoxide,” he explained.
The second round of testing has since been carried out, but authorities are still awaiting an official report on the results. “I am not sure yet what the result of that test is. We have not received a report from the fire department or the Department of Environment on the result of that test, so we are waiting for that,” Williams added.
When asked whether the hotel could face criminal liability if carbon monoxide was confirmed as the cause of death, he stated, “No, that would be far within the civil domain.”
Authorities are awaiting the results of toxicology tests, expected within the next week or two. “That is going to give us some good guidance in terms of what may have led to the death of these three women,” he said. “I still don’t want to speculate at this time and await the result of the toxicology report.”
Previously Colin Gillet, the fire chief of the Belize National Fire Service, said that officers conducted two separate tests for carbon monoxide and “found nothing.”
The families have called the deaths “mysterious” and “suspicious,” demanding more transparency from both Belizean and U.S. authorities.
