Brit holidaymakers 'abandoned by Thomson and Thomas Cook' in Caribbean' left to survive on 'handful of sandwiches'

British holidaymakers claim they have been
abandoned by Thomson and Thomas Cook in the
Caribbean as Hurricane Irma ravages the islands.
One couple accused Thomson holiday reps of getting
drunk, then disappearing for 24 hours at a time during
the storm.
Bryce White, 26, and his girlfriend Sophie are believed
to have been left stuck in a hotel room by Thomson
with six other people and only two litres of water and
a handful of ham sandwiches to sustain them.
They say they have even been forced to scavenge for
coconuts in a bid to get their hands on fresh liquid.
Bryce's father, Richard, told Mail Online: "They have
been told there is no more food or water and have
been forced to look for fallen coconuts outside.
"The reps disappeared for 24 hours then reappeared,
apologised and then got blind drunk. They keep saying
'there's nothing we can do' and have another drink.
We have begged Thomson to fly them home but they
say nothing is wrong'."
It comes as Thomas Cook announced they were
working on an 'evacuation plan' for 2,000 UK
holidaymakers following Hurricane Irma.
The tour operator said it is also sending extra support
staff to the island, which suffered severe damage due
to the extreme weather.
A number of UK tourists have complained about a
lack of information and access to resort reps.
Ross and Lesley McEwan, who are holidaying in St
Maarten, have been queuing at the airport every day
as instructed by the rep, according to the Telegraph .
But after 14 hours they say they were told that
'nobody wanted to take them'.
Brad and Steph Smart are trapped in the Bahamas
and have been helping locals build barriers with
sandbags to protect themselves from the storm.
Meanwhile, Jos Smart and
his girlfriend Julia Taylor are too afraid to leave their
smashed up hotel in St Maarteen after hearing reports
about looting and violence.
They have been holed up in a half-demolished
bathroom in a bid to stay safe.
Thomas Cook thanked customers for "their continued
patience".
The company said in a statement: "We are working on
an evacuation plan for our 2,350 customers in
Varadero, to bring all of them home in the coming
days.
"We have an additional 26 members of our special
assistance team waiting to fly out from the UK to
provide further support to customers as soon as we
can get into airports in Cuba.
"The safety of our customers is always our first
priority and that we continue to follow local and
government authority advice.
"All of our customers in Cuba were accommodated in
hotels that were built to withstand a hurricane as the
worst of the storm passed through.
"We understand that this is a worrying time, both for
our customers in resort and friends and family back
home watching the news. We are grateful to our
customers for their continued patience."
One customer, Joe, from Manchester, accused
Thomas Cook of "leaving us" in Cuba after his flight
home on Friday was cancelled, meaning he was still in
the country when the hurricane hit.
In a Twitter message he wrote: "Not angry about the
fact there was a hurricane. The argument is we were
meant to leave before it and were delayed and left in
danger, with no guidance."
He added that there was "no team in resort" and
posted photographs of a badly damaged hotel.
Janine Hall sent a message to Thomas Cook saying
her disabled sister has been "stranded" in Varadero,
Cuba after "begging to fly home Friday" and "needs
urgent medication".
Thomas Cook customer Emma Stothard, who is on
holiday in the Dominican Republic, described how she
was "so frustrated with the lack of communication
from the rep over here".
Nikki Kershaw, who is also in the Dominican Republic,
claimed tour operator Thomson has been "useless".

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