A New Jersey man is now the eighth American tourist to die from a mysterious illness at resorts in the Dominican Republic, according to multiple reports.
Officials found Joseph Allen, 55, of Avenel, New Jersey, dead in his hotel room at the Terra Linda Hotel, a different resort from where the other American tourists have been found dead.
Allen’s sister, Jamie Reed, told ABC News that he died on Thursday and was in the area to celebrate a friend’s birthday before he became violently ill.
Reed said that Allen’s friends who were on the trip with her brother said he went to take a shower after complaining of feeling hot in the pool and went to bed for the rest of the night. When Allen did not show up for breakfast the next morning, hotel staff checked in on him only to find him dead in the room.
Reed said her brother was “for the most part healthy” and would travel to the area multiple times in a year.
At least seven other American tourists have died at resorts within the Dominican Republic over the past year, either from respiratory illnesses or a heart attack, CBS News reported.
The other American tourists died at other resorts in the area: Three died at the Grand Bahia Príncipe La Romana, two died at the Hard Rock in Punta Cana, one died at Excellence Resorts in Punta Cana, and one died at the Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville, the Daily Mail reported.
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