The families of three women from Massachusetts who tragically passed away from carbon monoxide poisoning at a Belize hotel last year have initiated a wrongful death lawsuit. The lawsuit targets both the resort and the travel website, Expedia, which facilitated their booking.
The victims, Wafae El-Arar, 26, Kaoutar Naqqad, 23, and Imane Mallah, 24, were discovered lifeless on February 22, 2025, at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort located in San Pedro.
Authorities confirmed that the three women succumbed to fatal levels of carbon monoxide exposure.
The lawsuit arises after the tragic February 22 discovery of their bodies at the Royal Kahal Beach Resort. The families are holding the resort and Expedia accountable, as the latter was used to arrange their vacation.
According to Belize Police Commissioner Chester Williams, a defective gas-powered water heater might have been the source of the lethal carbon monoxide leak, as reported by Boston.com.
“We are still trying to process the unimaginable,” shared the grieving families in a heartfelt statement. “Our daughters and sisters went on vacation and never returned. The disbelief and pain remain as intense as ever.”
In a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Boston, the families allege that Royal Kahal failed to investigate warnings from previous hotel guests who reported carbon monoxide exposure, and that the suite where the women stayed lacked a functional carbon monoxide detector, according to the news outlet.
“This was not an unavoidable accident,” said Thomas Scolaro, an attorney for the women’s families. “It was the foreseeable result of decisions that put safety last and a bottom line first, and our legal system exists to hold those responsible to account.”
Aerial photo of San Pedro, Belize, which borders the Caribbean Sea. (Getty Images / iStock)
The women used Expedia to plan their vacation to Belize in early 2025. After viewing an Expedia page for Royal Kahal, the travel website sent them “retargeting ads and solicitations” encouraging them to book their trip, the lawsuit states.
Meanwhile, other guests had reported high carbon monoxide levels and symptoms consistent with exposure, the news outlet reported. Some went so far as to detail their experiences through Expedia reviews, the lawsuit states.
The complaint further alleges that the Navien water heaters were not only defectively designed but improperly installed as hotel construction was “completed on a shoe-string budget by unqualified handymen.”
“We trusted that the places and companies inviting families to stay with them cared about safety as much as they cared about profit,” they said. “We now know that trust was misplaced. We are here because accountability matters, because it can prevent future tragedies, and because our daughters’ lives mattered.”
Belize is located in Central America (Google Maps)
The families are seeking $100 million in damages.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the resort and Expedia, as well as Scolaro.
