Tragedy has struck for three families from Revere, Massachusetts, after the loss of their loved ones to carbon monoxide poisoning at a Belize resort hotel. Wafae El Arar, 26, Imane Mallah, 24, and Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, were found lifeless in their hotel room at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort in San Pedro on February 22, 2025. The sorrowful incident has since escalated into a legal confrontation, with the families filing a wrongful death lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts. The lawsuit accuses the resort of a "catastrophic failure of safety systems" and negligence, as described in a statement obtained by NBC Boston.
An initial misdirect had focused on the likelihood of drug involvement, something that attorney Thomas Scolaro emphatically dismissed after tests confirmed that the women had no illicit drugs in their systems. "This was not an unavoidable accident," Scolaro emphasised, blaming the incident on poor decision-making that prioritized financial gain over safety, according to a statement obtained by WCVB. The action extends beyond the resort's operators to include the Canadian developers, Belizean contractors, a U.S.-based water heater manufacturer, and travel platforms that marketed the ill-fated stay to American consumers.
The Belize Police Department originally identified the cause of death as "acute pulmonary edema," but later investigations revealed a deadly embrace of carbon monoxide, likely from a faulty instant water heater. In an intimate revealing of grief, a family representative said, "Our daughters and sisters left for a vacation and never came home," as shared by WCVB. They hope that their suit will not only honor the memory of their loved ones but also prevent such agonies from being endured by others by demanding accountability and ensuring safety measures are in place.
With no signs of physical injury but the presence of vomit beside each victim, the scene hinted at a sinister cause, later confirmed as carbon monoxide poisoning. Police Commissioner Chester Williams, noted "alcohol and gummies" found in the room, yet these were not factors in the demise of El Arar, Mallah, and Naqqad. Scolaro, addressing the misjudgment by authorities and the clear conclusion asserted by forensic findings, stressed the importance of seeking justice moving forward. "While the truth is now clear, the focus today is on what happens next," he told WCVB. The lawsuit is aiming for compensatory damages, damages for conscious pain, and suffering, and punitive damages under Massachusetts law, a bid to pierce through the corporate veil that might have insulated these entities from direct accountability.
