Theo Treharne-Jones Kos death: 'Catalogue of errors to blame'

Theo Treharne-Jones was found in a swimming pool on Kos on Saturday morning

A holidaymaker who tried to save the life of a five-year-old boy who died in Greece said a "catalogue of errors" led to the tragedy.

Adam Holmes told BBC Wales Theo Treharne-Jones managed to get out of his hotel room on Kos because it did not lock from the inside.

Theo, from Merthyr Tydfil, was found in a swimming pool on Saturday morning at the Atlantica Holiday Village Kos.

Holiday operator TUI said the safety of customers and staff was its priority.

Theo was on holiday with his parents Richard and Nina, his siblings and extended family.

Mr Holmes, 34, from Essex, who spoke to BBC Wales with the blessing of Theo's parents, described the frantic efforts by himself and others to resuscitate the little boy after he was discovered in the pool.

He criticised emergency procedures at the resort, and the lack of security on some hotel doors which meant Theo was able to let himself out of his room.

Adam Holmes, pictured here with his wife Mel, helped try to resuscitate Theo

A number of other people have made similar complaints on websites, including TripAdvisor, that some doors do not lock properly at the hotel, and that they do not have chain locks.

Mr Holmes, who owns a first aid training business, was woken on Saturday morning by his sister-in-law, who told him CPR was being administered to someone by the swimming pool.

He immediately went to help and saw CPR being performed on Theo. A manager told him a defibrillator was on its way and Mr Holmes helped with CPR.

He asked again about the defibrillator, and was then told it was at reception. Mr Holmes ran to reception but was told by the receptionist she did not know what he was talking about.

She then took a phone call and said it was on its way, he said. Mr Holmes went back to the pool but was told by the manager it was in fact at the doctor's surgery. He then had to run to the surgery to get it.

"That probably took about four minutes," he estimated.

'Extremely frustrating'

Mr Holmes said hotel management had told him the defibrillator was not at reception because a doctor had used it on someone who had had a heart attack the night before.

"To be honest, time stood still, but it was extremely frustrating that there didn't seem to be any emergency action plan, any level of competency from the hotel staff," he added.

He said one TUI rep and one member of hotel staff performing CPR were "brilliant" but a lot of hotel staff did not react.

"It was a catalogue of errors all the way through. When the ambulance arrived it was like nothing I've seen before," he continued.

"There was no treatment administered by the paramedic. He literally just wanted Theo to be picked up and taken to the ambulance."

Mr Holmes said they had to pass Theo over a gate because it was locked and when the ambulance finally got going, he and Theo's dad had to administer oxygen and CPR to him while the paramedic drove.

Theo managed to make his way out of the family's hotel room and into the pool, Mr Holmes said

When they arrived at the hospital, no stretcher was used and Theo was carried in, he said.

Theo's father had told Mr Holmes that the family had to "barricade" the ground floor hotel room door shut because it could not be locked from the inside, but said Theo must have woken up before them and let himself out.

"That led to the catastrophic tragedy. There's a chain on our door. Some have got chains, some have not," Mr Holmes said, adding he had seen "numerous children get out".

A spokeswoman for TUI said on Tuesday: "Following the tragic incident at the Holiday Village Kos, Greece, our thoughts are with the family and we are continuing to support them in whatever way we can.

"The safety and wellbeing of our customers and staff is our primary concern and our dedicated resort team is still working closely with the authorities and hoteliers.

"The team is on hand to support any customers currently in resort, or due to travel, with any questions."

TUI has been asked to comment on the latest claims. But it said that "as this is still under investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further".

The Holiday Village said it could not comment.