Spain: More than 100 guests fall ill after buffet at four-star hotel

Dubai: More than 100 holidaymakers, including children and a pregnant woman, fell ill with suspected salmonella poisoning after a buffet lunch at a four-star hotel on Spain’s Costa Cálida. 

Regional authorities in Murcia confirmed that at least 47 guests at the Izan Cavanna Hotel required emergency care at Santa Lucía Hospital in the nearby port city of Cartagena. 

Nine remain under medical supervision, including three children and a woman eight months pregnant whose condition was described as critical.

A field hospital was set up near the beachfront hotel to treat a surge of patients reporting nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and fever. The first alerts mentioned 28 cases, but the number of those affected quickly climbed to more than 100 of the roughly 800 guests staying at the property.

Preliminary investigations suggest the outbreak may have originated from either a fish dish or a spinach-filled pasta served at Saturday’s lunch buffet. 

Samples have been taken from the hotel’s kitchen as inspectors work to confirm the source. The buffet restaurant has since been closed.

Ambulances were seen ferrying sick tourists to hospitals over the weekend, while others were treated in their rooms with rehydration drips or laid out on stretchers in hotel corridors. 

Under mounting criticism, hotel management issued a statement expressing “deep regret” and pledging cooperation with health authorities. The hotel said it had notified regulators, provided medical support to affected guests, imposed strict disinfection protocols, and contracted an outside catering company to oversee food services.

“We express our full solidarity with all affected guests and confirm that we have mobilized all our resources to manage this crisis with the utmost transparency and responsibility,” the statement said.

Spanish authorities are awaiting final laboratory results to determine whether salmonella is the cause. The bacterium, often linked to undercooked or contaminated food, typically causes sudden fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps that last up to a week.