A British holidaymaker died in Jamaica after trying to down all 21 cocktails on the hotel bar menu, an inquest heard.
Timothy Southern, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, was at the pool when he met two Canadian women who were trying to complete the challenge to celebrate one of their birthdays. The 53-year-old, who had already drunk beer and brandy that morning, decided to join them.
He made it through 12 of the cocktails before heading back to his room at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean, in Saint Ann. Shortly after, he fell ill and sadly died in the hotel, the Mirror reports.
Now, Timothy's devastated family have slammed hotel staff, including a nurse, over how the situation was handled after they asked for an ambulance to be called.
Timothy had been vacationing with his sister, children and other relatives when the trip took a tragic turn in May 2022. The family say they raised the alarm with hotel workers when they found him was struggling to breathe.
Speaking at his inquest, one of them said: "He was on his back choking. I put him in the recovery position and screamed for an ambulance. He was making a gurgling sound.
"As soon as he was in the recovery position he vomited. I was shouting his name with no response.
"When the nurse arrived I said had an ambulance been called and she said 'no'. I thought she would take over. But that was not the case. I noticed he was starting to lose temperature. I checked his pulse and couldn't find it.
"She said he had a pulse. I was starting to lose it. I got a full look at his face and I thought he had passed away.
"I said, 'Don't just sit there looking at him, start CPR'. She only gave him chest compressions. Maybe if she had known what she was doing, maybe he would still be here. The service and treatment he received was disgusting."
A pathologist in Kingston, Jamaica, determined his cause of death as 'acute gastroenteritis due to alcohol consumption'. However, toxicology reports could take three years to come back from Jamaica, the inquest heard.
Staffordshire area coroner Emma Serrano ruled that Timothy's death was alcohol-related.
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