Fiona Govan
A NEW system of safety checks will be carried out by British consular staff at resorts across the Balearic Islands following a spate of deaths of holidaymakers who fell from hotel balconies.
The new protocol has been established following the high-profile death of 18-year-old Brit, Tom Channon, who plummeted 50ft over a knee-high wall at the notorious Eden Roc complex in Magaluf in July 2018.
The teenager was celebrating the end of his A-levels with a holiday with friends on the island, when he became disoriented after a night out drinking and fell to his death.
An inquest into his death revealed no safety measures were installed at the hotel, despite a similar tragedy occurring just weeks earlier.
It emerged that his death came just a month after another British holidaymaker, Thomas Hughes, 20, died in a fall at the same hotel, while a third Briton, Natalie Cormack, had fallen to her death at the same complex two months earlier in April, 2018.
Tom’s family successfully campaigned since his death to make the wall safer, something they believe could have been achieved sooner if only communications between the authorities and the island were clearer.
Now a new training programme named ‘Tom’s Check’ has been designed for British consulate staff aimed at improving the safety of holidaymakers and helping to support bereaved families.
One part of the training will focus on ensuring that British consulate staff meet with local authorities and request they address safety concerns and visit the site.
Tom’s Check also teaches staff to request meetings with the police to help understand safety concerns and to identify where the consulate will look to take action.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office will test the new measures in the Balearic Islands in the summer of 2022.
If successful, it will be introduced in other resorts across Spain.
Tom’s parents said that their son would have wanted the measures and feel proud that they bear his name.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We continue to work with Tom’s parents to ensure families have access to the information they need, and build on our work in preventing tragic accidents from happening in the future.”
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