Mum watched son die on video call after he was served peanut cake that hotel staff said was safe

Monday, December 09, 2024 - A heartbroken mum has revealed how she ‘cried and screamed’ as she watched her allergic teenage son d!e on a video after eating a cake with peanuts.

Idris Qayyum, from west London, had been on his first-ever holiday without his family in Antalya, Turkey, in June 2023 when he d!ed from his severe allergy.

He had lived with a severe peanut allergy his whole life, but on the said day, he headed to the rooftop terrace of the hotel he was staying in with a friend.

The 19-year-old triple-checked with waiters that there were no peanuts in the cake he ordered, repeating his request to them using Google Translate.

But just moments after eating the cake, Idris began to feel breathless and returned to his room with a friend.

The friend called Idris’s mother, Ayeshah Bathia, who watched her son die over the video call when his heart stopped some 20 minutes later.

She told MailOnline: ‘Our lives have been shattered forever. To lose our son aged 19 is the worst tragedy any family could face.

‘But to lose him in circumstances where we were not able to be there to help him is very hard to bear.

‘And to lose him knowing that he had made every effort to protect himself from a harm to which he knew he was vulnerable is even worse.’

The teenager’s mum recalls pleading with hotel staff to administer Idris his EpiPen.

She added: ‘As soon as the camera faced to turn him I could see him on the floor.

‘I could see three staff members around him giving CPR and I knew it was really bad. I was extremely distressed, all my daughter and I could do was watch this over a video call.

‘I was shouting down the phone whilst crying, asking staff to give him his EpiPen, to call an ambulance.’

Idris’s family have now launched legal action against Love Holidays, the agents he booked his trip with, claiming the tour operator and its suppliers failed to provide the correct information regarding food allergens, thereby misleading Idris.

They are also claiming that the company did not provide its staff with adequate training. Idris’s family believe the teenager would still be alive if he had not been misguided by staff.

His mother added: ‘Travel companies have a duty of care to customers and hotel guests to keep them safe.

‘My message to travel companies and to hotels that they work with is that training on allergies and anaphylaxis is available to all staff.

‘It is vital food is labelled correctly with allergen ingredients.

‘We do not want it to happen to anybody else. If we can prevent just one person from suffering the same reaction by raising awareness we will take it.’

Love Holidays responded by saying: ‘We are deeply saddened to hear of Mr Qayyum’s passing and would like to extend our heartfelt condolences to his loved ones during this difficult time.

‘The safety of our customers is our top priority and we are conducting a thorough investigation with the hotel involved as a matter of urgency.

‘As Mr Qayyum’s family have now instructed lawyers, we are unable to provide any further comment.’