BREAKING NEWS! UK’s Thomas Cook BANKRUPTCY, Thousands of Passengers Stranded

Thomas Cook Group Plc, the 178-year-old travel company that became one of the U.K.’s best-known brands, has collapsed under a pile of debt, leaving tens of thousands of British tourists stranded across Europe.

The company said in a statement that its board “concluded that it had no choice but to take steps to enter into compulsory liquidation with immediate effect.”

“An application was made to the High Court for a compulsory liquidation of the Company before the opening of business today and an order has been granted to appoint the Official Receiver as the liquidator of the Company,” it said in the statement.

Peter Fankhauser, Thomas Cook’s chief executive, apologized to customers, employees, suppliers, and partners.

Reports said a collapse of the group would mean the repatriation of 600,000 tourists, including around 150,000 seeking government help returning to the UK.

As well as the grounding of its planes, Thomas Cook has been forced to shut travel agencies, leaving the group’s 22,000 global employees — 9,000 of whom are in Britain — out of a job.

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