Charlie Smith
THE death of a British teen who plunged from a Mallorca apartment wall ‘could have been prevented’, a coroner has said.
Holidaymaker, Thomas Channon, 18, died from ‘catastrophic injuries’, the third fatality at the Magaluf resort in the same year.
The teen, from Rhoose, in the Vale of Glamorgan, fell over a knee-high wall during a holiday to Mallorca with pals, as they celebrated finishing their A-levels.
The tragedy, in July 2018, saw the new graduate fall 15 metres, before being found dead in the courtyard at the Eden Roc complex.
Channon’s death came around a month after Tom Hughes, 20, from Wrexham, also fell to his death at the apartment block.
An inquest in Pontypridd found that Channon may have been ‘intoxicated and fatigued’ after he returned from a night out and fell seven floors.
Coroner Graeme Hughes did however add: “I do not find Tom was ridiculously drunk or out of control.”
A post-mortem revealed the young lad was twice the legal drink-drive limit, after he had been watching Croatia beat England in the World Cup.
Hughes added: “It is absolutely tragic that simple steps of erecting the temporary fence were not instigated following Thomas Hughes’ death in June 2018.
“These simple steps would have, in all probability, prevented Thomas Channon from meeting his death on July 12 2018.”
Channon’s mum Ceri said at the inquest she was glad that there had been ‘recognition’ that her son’s death could have been prevented.
The inquest heard that ‘steel bollards’ are now in place at the complex.
