Pals of Scots holidaymaker, 26, who fell to his death from Ibiza balcony slam hotel branding it ‘inhumane'

Scottish Sun

4 days ago

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THE friends of a Scottish tourist who died after a horror balcony fall in Ibiza have slammed a hotel for their 'inhumane' handling of the tragedy.
Evan Thomson, from Aberdeen, tragically lost his life after falling from the sixth floor of the Ibiza Rocks Hotel in the island's San Antonio on Monday July 7.
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Evan Thomson died after falling from a sixth floor balcony
Credit: Facebook
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He was tragically pronounced dead at the scene
Credit: Facebook
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His pals have since blasted the Ibiza Rocks Hotel for their response to the tragedy
Credit: Darren Fletcher
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They claim the hotel almost acted as if Evan's death never happened
Credit: Darren Fletcher
He was on holiday with pals and had recently celebrated his 26th birthday last month.
The young Scot was discovered by his friends around 6am who raised the alarm.
Medics were called to the hotel but tragically Evan was pronounced dead at the scene.
But his friends have now blasted hotel staff for their response to the tragedy, claiming they almost acted as if nothing had happened after Evan's death.
They claimed to the Press and Journal staff were washing the area where Evan was found less than two hours after his death and were still advertising events for that day on social media.
Pal Blair Robertson, 25, said they were kept separate from other guests in the manager's office after finding their friend and were left without answers.
But he said 90 minutes after they were told about their friend's death they were allowed back to their room to pack their bags before being moved to another hotel.
He told the P&J: 'We heard the jet washes from the ground cleaning the area where Evan died and it had only been 90 minutes or so since he was found.
'That was the worst thing for us to hear – how fast they tried to get things back to normal.
'They took us out of the hotel at around 9am and put us in a new hotel down the road.
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'It was like they wanted to get back to business as usual as soon as possible.
'It was just a very traumatic experience.
'They just wanted us out – and to start the party again. It was a disregard of life.
'It was hard hearing the cleaners coming into the room in the morning, as though nothing had happened.'
Evan's other friend James Shand continued the criticism of the Ibiza Rocks Hotel, claiming they viewed Evan's death from a 'business perspective' after seeing events for that day advertised on social media.
"They just wanted us out – and to start the party again. It was a disregard of life."
Blair Robertson
He said: 'Seeing them post 'are you all ready for the next event?' within hours of it happening was sickening.
'They looked at Evan's death from a business perspective. They just preferred that people wouldn't find out, so it wouldn't ruin the party.
'Even if that post was an oversight, they've had a week to remove it and haven't.
'How could they do that – no less than five hours after Evan died?'
Other fears have been raised about safety at the hotel after the tragedy.
One of the main concerns Evan's friends and loved ones have is about the balcony wall only being 3ft high, and worry it was not enough to stop 6'3 Evan from falling to his death, as it only came up to his hip.
In April this year, a 19-year-old Italian tourist died after falling from the fourth floor of the Ibiza Rocks Hotel after trying to reach her room from a balcony via a shared area.
"They looked at Evan's death from a business perspective. They just preferred that people wouldn't find out, so it wouldn't ruin the party."
James Shand
Ibiza Rocks has been approached for comment in response to the concerns raised by Evan's friends.
In a previous statement, the hotel said: 'This is a truly tragic and extremely sad situation.
'Our senior management team onsite did everything possible to help the police with their investigation into events leading up to Evan's death, and to provide constant support from our customer services manager to Evan's friends.
'That has included them having 24-hour access to our senior manager for any help or questions and giving them permission to pass on her mobile number to Evan's family should they wish to call us direct.
'They were very appreciative of all the help and support at such a difficult time.
'We are deeply saddened by Evan's death and our thoughts continue to be with his family and friends at this truly difficult time.'
The Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British national who has died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."
Spain's Guardia Civil has been approached for comment.