Two young graduates left stranded by Hurricane Irma claim they have been abandoned by their holiday company and left ‘crying and petrified’ in their hotel bathroom.
Sophie Collins and her friend Eleanor Reid were on the holiday of their dreams in the Dominican Republic until the devastating storm took hold.
But as the Category 5 storm battered large parts of the island yesterday, the 22-year-olds say they have been left alone and told to ‘hide in the bathroom’ by holiday company Thomson.
Sophie Collins (pictured left) and her friend Eleanor Reid (pictured right) were on the trip of a lifetime in the Dominican Republic before Hurricane Irma hit the island yesterday
Irma devastated parts of the British island of Barbuda (pictured) this week, sparking fears for several Brits on holiday there
British sisters Afiya and Asha Frank, 27 and 29, have not been heard from since Wednesday. Afiya Frank is pregnant and was due to fly back to the UK from Barbuda (pictured) next week
Miss Collins, from Ilford, Essex, was celebrating her graduation from Bournemouth Arts University, but is now desperately hiding under a mattress in the bath at the Gran Ventana Beach Resort on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast.
Fears have been growing for British tourists in the Caribbean as Irma, believed to be one of the most devastating hurricanes on record, hit UK territories this week.
The family of Afiya and Asha Frank, 27, and 29, are desperately worried about them after last hearing from them at around 10pm on Wednesday when power cut out on the island of Barbuda.
The Gran Ventana Beach Resort is located on the Dominican Republic’s northern coast and is at major risk from Hurricane Irma
Afiya Frank is seven months pregnant and was due to fly back to the UK next week.
Miss Collins’s mother Lisa Trutwein told the Evening Standard: ‘I spoke to her and she is crying, petrified, hiding in the bath under a mattress.
‘She said she can hear the building creaking and said the sky had gone black. I could hear the winds from down the phone.
‘I don’t know why they were not evacuated – it is just the British who were left there and they were told to take cover in the bathrooms. Thomson should be ashamed, they have had days to prepare for this.’
Storms are currently raging across the Dominican Republic (pictured) where Miss Collins and Miss Reid are staying causing mass devastation and flooding
The women, both 22 and arts graduates, claim holiday company Thomson told them to ‘hide in the bathroom’ of their room at the Gran Ventana Beach Resort
Ms Trutwein claims coaches arrived at her daughter’s resort on Wednesday to collect US and German tourists who were staying there, but Miss Collins and Miss Reid were told there were ‘no planes’ for British holidaymakers.
The young graduates claim there are young families staying at the resort.
She added: ‘I can’t breathe, I have not slept.
‘I have just been reading and watching the coverage of how the hurricane devastated Barbuda – that place has been left uninhabitable now, it was completely flattened.’
According to her mother, Miss Collins asked a holiday rep if she could be moved further in-land to avoid the full wrath of the storm, but if she did so ‘would be leaving the resort at her own risk’.
Ms Trutwein claims the same rep had ‘gone inland to be with her family’, only leaving hotel staff to help the women.
The arts graduates were told there were ‘no planes’ for British holidaymakers when coaches came to collect US and German tourists from the resort on Wednesday
Miss Collins (pictured) was celebrating her graduation from Bournemouth Arts University before the storm started to devastate large parts of the Caribbean
A Thomson spokesman told the Standard: ‘It is true that the rep did not stay at the hotel but that is because she has two young children.
‘The rep has spoken to the girls and they are okay. They have been told to stay in their rooms and they have had food delivered.
‘The people who were collected yesterday would have been people who were already scheduled to leave – there has been no evacuation and the reason they could not be moved to a different resort is because we have been told not to ravel on the roads and we have to refer to the advice given by local authorities.’
Miss Collins’s mother has been desperately trying to ring the Thomson emergency number but has been told to go online for updates and ‘pray for her daughter’s safe return’.
The travel firm said in a statement: ‘The health and safety of our customers, crew and destination teams is our primary focus.
‘Our experienced team of international reps in resort are supporting our customers in their hotels and we would advise that all customers in the destinations closely follow instructions from our teams and the hotel management at all times.
‘Should customers in resort have any questions, they can speak to their holiday rep in the hotel or call our 24/7 hotline.’