Corfu tragedy couple to return home

The father of two children who died from carbon monoxide poisoning in Corfu is returning home to Britain.

Neil Shepherd, 38, was taken to the General Hospital of Corfu with his girlfriend Ruth Beatson after they were overcome by the gas. His daughter Christianne, seven, and son Robert, six, died in the tragedy last week. The hospital's manager said Mr Shepherd and Ms Beatson were on their way back to England.

Police are still investigating whether a faulty boiler or air-conditioning system could have been to blame for the family being poisoned.

The coffins of the two dead children arrived at Manchester Airport on Monday accompanied by their mother. Sharon Wood, 35, of Horbury, West Yorkshire, and her second husband Paul accompanied them on the journey after she had flown out to identify her children.

On Tuesday the permit of the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel, where the tragedy happened on Thursday, was suspended by the Greek authorities. According to Tourism Minister Fanni Palli-Petralia, the hotel will permanently lose its permit if the ongoing police investigation finds that hotel officials were responsible for the deaths.

Corfu's chief of security police, Dimitris Bineris, has said Mr Shepherd told him how he recalled attempting to save his children before his own collapse.

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