Family's 'nightmare' after Brit, 25, plunges to his death from Malta balcony
A 25-year-old British man died after suffering multiple blunt force injuries when he plunged from a hotel balcony in Malta, an inquest has heard.
Kieran Hughes, a software engineer from Nant Gwynant, Gwynedd, Wales, was on a trip with friends when he fell from a height at the 10 storey Cavalieri Art Hotel in St Julian's, on the east coast of the Mediterranean island, at roughly 4am on July 11. First responders raced to the building in Malta's Triq Spinola area but the 25-year-old was tragically pronounced dead at the scene. In a heartbreaking statement, Hughes' devastated father described him as "a special son and twin brother," adding the family were "living in a nightmare" since the tragedy.
Opening the inquest, assistant coroner for North West Wales Sarah Riley said the case was likely "to be an unnatural death," the cause of which being "multiple blunt force injuries due to a fall from height," according to Maltese authorities. She added that the circumstances surrounding the incident had yet to be established in Malta and adjourned the inquest pending further inquiries.
The Foreign Office previously said it was in touch with local authorities regarding Hughes' death, with police inquiries thought to be ongoing. Liz Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, said the young man's death was "heartbreaking news," adding: "My heart goes out to the young man's family at this extremely difficult time."
Senedd member Sian Gwenllian said: "The pain his family must be experiencing is unimaginable. My thoughts, and those of the people of Gwynedd, are with the family in their grief."
Mr Hughes was employed as a software engineer at the M-Sparc Science Park in Anglesey and studied engineering at Bangor University. His family said they wanted to remember his as being "happy, loving and full of life".
Welsh MP Sian Gwenllian, who represents Arfon, said at the time of Hughes' death: "News of the death of a 25-year-old from Gwynedd in Malta is truly devastating. The pain his family must be experiencing is unimaginable. My thoughts, and those of the people of Gwynedd, are with them in their grief."
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