Two Delaware teenagers sickened by a banned pesticide that was sprayed at the Caribbean resort where they were staying are still in a critical condition more than six weeks later, their family said Monday.
Sean and Ryan Esmond and their parents fell ill after an applicator working for Terminix used methyl bromide at the resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The teens are hospitalized in Philadelphia. Their father and mother, Stephen Esmond and Theresa Devine, continue to undergo therapy, said the family's statement, which provided the first update on the family's medical condition in a month.
"The Esmond Family thanks the nation for its outpouring of support and concern for the family's recovery from this unthinkable tragedy of pesticide poisoning during their family vacation," the statement said.
The Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Justice and authorities in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are investigating.
The EPA said in April that its probe had found the toxic pesticide was used at the Sirenusa Condominium Resort in St. John several times in the past and may have improperly been used in Puerto Rico. The agency banned the chemical for residential use in 1984.
"The family is confident that those responsible will be brought to justice," the Esmonds' statement said.