A 31-year old man and a 29-year-old woman from Amsterdam have died of suspected food poisoning in Colombia, the foreign affairs ministry has confirmed to the AD.

A spokesman for the ministry told the paper the Colombian authorities are assuming the two succumbed to food poisoning just days after arriving in the coastal town of Cartagena, but police are still investigating what happened.

The couple arrived at a hostel at the weekend. Two days later they complained of serious stomach problems and were taken to a local clinic where they were found to be in shock, with high blood pressure and intestinal problems. The woman died later the same day, followed by the man the next morning.

‘The care at our clinic was fully focused on helping them, but their situation quickly deteriorated,’ medical director Javier Hernández told a Columbian radio station.

The Dutch honorary consul is in contact with relatives of the deceased whose bodies will be brought back to the Netherlands as quickly as possible, the AD reported.