Joshua Parfitt
THE British girl who tragically died from a nut allergy during a half-term break on the Costa del Sol was allegedly not warned about the fatal ice cream.
Named locally as Habiba Chishti, the schoolgirl, 9, died after eating the ice cream in Mijas.
The young girl from Halifax went into anaphylactic shock at the Club La Costa World resort after suffering from a severe allergic reaction last Saturday evening.
According to a source with links to the Fuengirola mosque, the young girl’s body was flown home to West Yorkshire yesterday (Saturday), a week since she arrived in Malaga for a half term break.
An uncle told The Sun Online: “Habiba knew about the nut allergy and was very careful. Her dad was on top of it and this has never happened before.
“They had asked the ice cream place whether they had any nuts and they had been told not.”
A cousin of Habiba also told the Sun: “Habiba had a nut allergy, but she was fine with dairy products and ice cream. We are still not sure her eating the ice cream was the cause of her death, and we are not sure if she ate all the ice cream anyway.”
This contradicts original reports that alleged Habiba also suffered from a milk allergy.
Another uncle, Zafar Chishti, 49, said: “It is all very sad and we can’t understand what has happened.”
Habiba reportedly ate an ice cream bought from the Miramar shopping centre near to the Club la Costa World resort complex in Mijas, where the family had arrived on Saturday.
A respected Spanish newspaper reported the family later returned to the Club la Costa World to have supper—a 20-minute walk from Miramar, but the young daughter began feeling ill and the family immediately left the Safari Restaurant at the resort.
At around 9pm, Habiba went into anaphylactic shock just outside the restaurant and was rushed by ambulance to the Costa del Sol Hospital near Marbella.
She was revived, but suffered another cardiorespiratory arrest and was taken to Materno Infantil Hospital in Malaga at midnight, according to a spokesperson from the Costa del Sol hospital.
She died late on Monday afternoon.
A source told the Olive Press the family, who are believed to have two other young children, had been carrying an EpiPen.
It is not known if the device that administers epinephrine in the event of a severe allergic reaction was used.
An investigation into what caused the tragic death is currently underway, led by a judge from Malaga court.
A statement released by the High Court of Justice of Andalucia confirmed in Friday that Habiba died from anaphylactic shock.
A spokesman told the Olive Press that a secondary autopsy would provide more details of precisely which allergens caused the severe reaction.
An ice cream parlour and a frozen yoghurt vendor on the ground floor of the Miramar centre showed the Olive Press laminated charts displaying all allergens in their products.
One member of staff said allergens ‘were the first thing they were taught’ when starting their job, and doubted that a customer would have been provided false information.
It is not yet known where the ice cream was bought.
A senior member of staff at Miramar said they had only learned of the case on Wednesday following investigations from this paper.
Habiba’s father has been named as Dr Wajid Chishti, a practicing dentist.
Dr Christi runs Wajid Azam & Associates, in Halifax. His sister Rasheeda Azam is also a dentist at the practice.
Halifax Muslim Community Announcements said on its Facebook page on Monday: “Our little Habiba Chishti, daughter of Dr Wajid Chishti. May Allah bless her soul.”
Local resident Shaheen Ul-Haq wrote online: “Very heart breaking news.
“Habiba, her brother and sister used to go swimming with my son and niece every weekend. She was in his class.
“I can’t believe I won’t see her singing and dancing and that cheeky smile of hers anymore.
“I can’t begin to imagine what her mum is going through.”
More to follow…
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article used an image of a girl and reported it to be Habiba; it was not, and we apologise for any distress caused.
