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ARCHIVED - British man drowns in Tenerife hours before 30th birthday
The young man from Cardiff had just arrived on holiday in Spain when tragedy struck
A 29-year-old man from Cardiff sadly drowned off the coast of Callao Salvaje in Tenerife just hours after arriving on holiday on July 29. Even more tragically, Nicky Desmond had travelled to the Canary Island to celebrate his 30th birthday, and died the night before.
Friends of the young man have launched a GoFundMe campaign in the hope of raising the 10,000 pounds (11,874 euros) needed to bring his body home for a funeral. The campaign has already raised more than half of this.
Family friend Sacha Pugsley, 29, said Mr Desmond was "very bubbly, very outgoing" and "always had a helping hand for everybody".
Mr Desmond decided to take a swim in the sea shortly after arriving in south-west Tenerife. Although the details of his tragic accident haven’t been released it is understood that the emergency services brought the holidaymaker to a hospital in Adeje where he was pronounced dead a short time later.
"He would literally walk the world for me if he could. He was always happy, always bubbly. I don't think I'd ever seen a time where he was upset," added Ms Pugsley. "He'd never bring anybody down."
The online fundraising page said of Mr Desmond: "He was such a beautiful soul, a brother, a son loved by all that met him, has left us too soon. Our beloved friends & The Gabalfa community have suffered a significant loss with the recent passing of their precious friend Nicky."
A balloon release was held in Nicky's memory the day of his 30th birthday on July 30 in Gabalfa.
While his death is currently being referred to as a suspected drowning, an inquest will be opened once the Spanish authorities release the coroner's report.
Hardly a week goes by without news of an incident such as this one during the summer months in Spain, and drowning is now the third leading cause of accidental death. Each year, safety campaigns are launched across the country, but annual fatalities in the sea, pools, rivers and lakes continue to rise.
Image: GoFundMe
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