A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy from Manchester plunged 30ft to his death at a Tenerife holiday resort.
Jamie Owen slipped backwards after getting off a stool, fell underneath a railing and down concrete steps into a basement.
The youngster, from Burnage, suffered multiple injuries and died the following day in hospital.
His parents, Christopher Owen and Cliodhna McPhillips, along with his 13-year-old sister and 18-month-old brother were nearby in a ground-floor bar in Playa de las Americas, where they had gone for an evening out.
Mr Owen and a nurse who was in the bar ran to help when Jamie fell, but seeing the extent of his son's head injuries, he knew he didn't have "much chance".
Playing
He said that moments before the fall, Jamie, a pupil at Didsbury Road Primary School, Stockport, was sitting at a table playing with a seven-year-old British girl he met during the two-week holiday.
The tragedy happened in a family complex called The Patches. It is understood that the owner of the bar has since covered the gap under the railing with chicken wire.
Local reports have said a similar tragedy involving a child happened there about 15 years ago.
Warning
Jamie's parents are now warning other families to be aware of the dangers when travelling abroad.
Mr Owen said: "Jamie was our angel, our sunshine - and touched the hearts of everyone he met. He enjoyed life and lived it to the full. Our hearts are breaking and he will be missed by everyone. He was a clever, sensitive little boy with beautiful white hair and sparkling blue eyes, and he was fearless, just like his Power Rangers. That's how he would like to be remembered."
The couple said their distress was added to by the reaction of Spanish police. Mr Owen said an officer barred them from entering the ambulance and they took a taxi for the five-minute trip to the hospital.
The ambulance arrived 40 minutes after them, because doctors had tried to stabilise Jamie at the scene. He was later transferred to a hospital 60 miles away and his parents had to go by taxi.
A British Consular official later contacted the family and they said she was "gobsmacked" by the actions of the police.
Complaint
The official is said to have made up to five phone calls asking for the police to attend and they only arrived after she threatened to lodge a formal complaint.
Mr Owen said: "We were shocked by the reaction of the police, who didn't ask anything about the accident.
"To find out this has happened before was a shock. Once can be a tragedy, but twice is a crime and we will be looking to take action. We don't want this to happen to anyone else and parents should be aware."
A Foreign Office spokesman said British Consular staff had been working with the family.
Lesley-Anne Hill, deputy head at Didsbury Road Primary, said: "Jamie was a happy, lovely, helpful, friendly and popular boy."
Comments
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What a terrible terrible accident.
My thoughts to Jamie's family.
Parents should be aware that foreign countries dont have the same health and safety standards as ours and should never let there young children out of sight on holiday.
What a shame this happened.
Not blaming parents they probably thought he was safe.
I know this is the second holiday accident this week as another boy died in crete falling from a balcony, which is so sad.
Holiday Companies should make people aware of this when they import them and advise families of potential dangers.
What a beautiful little boy, and what a nasty, nasty tragidy! My heart goes out to this family. Makes me sick that the Spanish police wasnt interested and that they treated his parents like strangers! when they should have been able to travel with their son in the ambulance!! It would have been different if it was one of their own wouldnt it???? they forget that us british taking holidays their keep their country going????. Love to all the family of this little boy, so sorry for your loss.xx
The police on Tenerife are ineffective; health and safety is virtually unheard of.......these type of tragic accidents are just waiting to happen. The best thing that anyone can do is to boycott this island until they sort matters out.
Before slagging off the Spanish police and the island, think... would any of them left a 5-year-old and 7-year-old on their own?
I think not.
Neither would I have left my two (half tinefe¿¿o) kids to their own devices.
But then maybe I've been out of the country too long!
To Clio, Chris and family,
I know your life's
are tough right now,
and I wanted to say
that I'm thinking of you all.
Although no words can really help
to ease the loss you all bear,
just know that you are very close
in all my thoughts and prayers.
This is a terrible accident that should have never happened. This is a tragic loss of such a beautiful little boy who had his full life ahead of him, Its heart breaking not only to hear about the loss of your son also hear how the family was treated by the police over there at such a traumatic time.
Rest In Peace Gods Little Angel
Thinking of you all love Mandy Arthurs and family xxxx
I was on holiday in the same complex as the family involved in the accident and am amazed that the Spanish Authoroties are not as rigorous as our own Health and Safety Excutive who would act much more forecefully if a similar incident happened in England.
The bar was operating as normal on the evening of the accident and subsequently.
I am sure that there is much for you to investigate in this story if you are so inclined.
Way up in the heavens, in a place beyond your eyes, your baby plays with angel toys that money can not buy.Who are we to keep that child from his heaven above, a place so full of healing and caring and love. So no-one can take from you the time he had to stay and now he's gone ahead of time until another day. In this place beyond your eyes you will meet again one day, until that day just leave him there and let him play and play,
I have recently had to let my angel of 9 years go to heaven just 4 weeks ago so i really do feel your pain at this time but please try to feel the comfort that he is in gods arms in all the warmth and comfort beyond our means. God bless you all at this time
can not understand why
To Amanda of Tenerife. The way this story has been edited suggests that Jamie and his mum were apart at the time of the accident - they weren't, she was right next to him. Your misunderstanding of the story - or anyone else's - I could forgive, but to feel motivated to write what you did at a time when that family is going through hell is really quite shameful, regardless of the 'facts' as you see themm
we were staying at the same resort as this family and saw them playing in the pool with their little boys.this is a terrible tragedy. The touts in tenerife are as much to blame; trying to get you into their bars telling you it is a safe friendly environment for children, this was not the case for most of the places we visited, tenerife is known for family holidays and care should be taken by owners of bars that these types of incidents (that happen all too frequently) never occur and wreck a families life.
our thoughts and prayers are with you at this very sad time. x
amanda from tenerife before you say things get your facts correct she was with her little boy at the incident what if it was you she would not write anything like that ever because what you wrote is not true so dont think you can come on here writing things like that that is the most nastyest thing i have ever heard you nasty thing to amanda from tenerife
We were on holiday at the same time as Jamie and his mum and dad and my son Jake played with Jamie at the pool most days. I can honestly say that he was a lovely boy with a very loving and caring family. His mum and dad knew where Jamie was all the time and were always concious about making sure he was safe. This really is a tragic loss and our thoughts are with you all xxx
I am disgusted with the Spanish Police and ambulance service.
No way should they have been so uncaring,and heartless.
I will never visit Tenerife Again its a dump anyway.
The Bar owners should be ashamed of themselves for endangering this child and then shockingly not shutting the bar for at least a week out of respect for the child.Moneygrabbers.
Amanda I am shocked by your heartless comment!
Myself, partner and son where in the bar when this terrible accident happened, only moments before our son was playing with Jamie. We where amazed bars like this could open with such dangerous railings. We where also shocked how long it took for the ambulance to arrive. A number of people made calls in Spanish and English but still took over 15mins to arrive. It was a tragic accident and our thoughts are with Jamie's family
Rest in peace Jamie, I never met you but heard all about you from my son who went to school with you.
what a terrible tragedy, my heart goes out to his mum and dad and family.R.I.P Jamie, goodnight sweetheart.xxxx
And Amanda from Tenerife, sit back and think before you right such nasty things, even if his mother hadnt been sat right next to him, doesnt mean to say she wasnt watching him.Kids cannot be glued to your side 24/7
please do not give tis family any grief, they have enough to deal with without comments being maliciously said, im not being horrible to the woman who made that horrible comment but you have your children and hopefully and pray everynight that your children grow up and live life, for this family they will never be the same again and like belinda from brooklands i to lost my 5 year old son in april of this year to cancer and so let these parents grieve and dont give any nasty comments because losing a child no matter what circumstance is the most horrendous nightmare that any parent can go through. my heart and soul go out to this family and their little boy is a beautiful little angel.
first of all i would like to offer my deepest sympathy to jamie,s family at this very sad time may little jamie rest in peace.i was walking by the pub where jamie and his family where at the time of this terrable accident.i was with my wife and son and all i could hear was a woman scream so i ran to see what had happened i seen jamies mum crying and shouting that her son had fallen over the balcony at first i was afraid to look over as i did not know what i would see.then a woman came over to me and said would i go down to check and see if the child was alright . i was afraid of my life as i have a son and i know what it is like to be a parent and if something like that would have happened to him how me and his mum would feel.so i went down and i asked the girl that was a nurse if there was anything that i could do and she said to go up and ring the ambulance again that jamie needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.i went up and there was a man and a woman on two different phones talking to the ambulance service.my wife and i where amazed at how long it took the ambulance to get to jamie as the hospital was only five to ten minutes away.when the ambulance finally came there was another one that followed and the both crews went down to work on jamie as i stood on the balcony that jamie had fallen from i was shocked when a woman came over to me and said that where was the parents when this all happened i said to her miss the parents where sitting with the kids when it happened i could see that there was two or three familys sitting with there kids when the accident happened.then when the ambulance men came up with little jamie and would,nt let his mum or dad into the ambulance with him and when i seen the ambulance man bring the parents up to the top of the road to get a taxi to the hospital i thought how compassionate they where.then after all that the ambulance sat on the road for about 40 minutes before it went to the hospital.and to amanda there was no need for your comments i was there and i seen the look on jamies mother and fathers face and i seen there tears. if this newspaper can pass on me and my familys condolences the jamies family i would be very grateful from
alan ,tanya and adam in dublin may jamie rest in peace always in our prayers xx
I am so sorry to hear the tragic news of poor Jamie, altough I didnt know him personaly, I recognize his photo as my daughter goes to the same school. My heart goes out to all the family. x x
I cannot imagine what the parents of Jamie must be going through.I go to Didsbury Road Primary School and everybody will miss him.x x
R.I.P Jamie you were a lovely person.
i wud just like to say how sorry i am for what happened. me and my parents were there that night, and we could see how happy the little boy was it shouldnt of happened. When the tragedy happened i was looking after his younger brother in the pushchair, i came back to the pub next day a put a teddy on the railings. It is such a shame my love goes to the family of jamie R.I.P sweetheart