Swindon man drowned on 'poorly monitored' holiday trip
- Published
Roy Fawcett was on holiday with his wife in the Dominican Republic last year when he died
A 58-year-old man drowned during a "poorly monitored" holiday excursion, an inquest has heard.
Roy Fawcett, from Swindon, Wiltshire, died while snorkelling in the Dominican Republic on 12 October during a trip organised by TUI UK.
His wife Sue said when he was pulled unconscious from the sea, tour staff were "ill-prepared" to help him.
Coroner Andrew Haigh concluded the death was an accident after an inquest at Staffordshire Coroner's Court.
The inquest was told Mr and Mrs Fawcett were among an organised party who went on an excursion to an uninhabited island off the coast of the Dominican Republic.
Mrs Fawcett said she remained on the beach while her husband went snorkelling with about 10 other holidaymakers.
After he did not return with the others, father-of-three Mr Fawcett was dragged on to the beach by two tour staff and a holidaymaker.
'Lax safety measures'
Mrs Fawcett said a member of staff performed CPR, but she believed he had not been trained.
She said after a 15-minute boat trip to the mainland, her husband was put on the back seat of a pick-up truck to take him to hospital, even though she had been assured an ambulance would be available.
Mrs Fawcett said it took more than half an hour for her husband to arrive at the hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
Recording his verdict, the coroner concluded that Mr Fawcett died of "accidental drowning on a poorly monitored holiday excursion".
Speaking after the inquest, Mrs Fawcett said: "I'm angry that safety measures on what was an organised excursion appeared to be so lax.
"It seemed to me that the official excursion workers were ill-prepared for an emergency and did not seem to know what to do."
Mrs Fawcett added she hopes "lessons can be learned" to ensure "no one else has to suffer the heartache and pain of losing a loved one in such circumstances when it could be prevented".
A TUI UK spokesperson said: "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Mr Fawcett following this tragic incident.
"We note the coroner's comments and we will be further reviewing the matter with the third party excursion provider."