British father, 53, dies on holiday in Jamaica after trying to drink all 21 cocktails from pool bar menu: Family raise nearly £10,000 to fly him back for funeral
- Timothy Southern died in May 2022 after taking a drinking challenge at a bar
- His family criticized the hotel for its poor response after being rushed to his room
A British father died in Jamaica after trying to drink all 21 cocktails on the menu at a hotel pool bar, an inquest has learned.
Timothy Southern, from Lichfield, Staffordshire, had drunk 12 of the cocktails when he went to his room at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean, in Saint Ann.
The 53-year-old was on holiday with his sister, children and other relatives when disaster struck in May 2022.
Loved ones rushed to Timothy’s room after the alarm went off.
One of them recounted his inquest: “He was suffocating on his back. I put him in the recovery position and yelled for an ambulance.
He made a gurgling sound. As soon as he was in the lateral position, he vomited. I called his name without answer.
Timothy Southern, of Lichfield, Staffordshire, pictured reclining atop the famous ‘Bob Marley Stone’ at the late reggae artist’s mausoleum. It is said that Marley lay on the stone when he sought inspiration
The 53-year-old was vacationing with his sister, children and other relatives at the hotel when disaster struck in May 2022
“When the nurse arrived I said an ambulance had 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 started to lose it. I got a full look at his face and I thought he had passed away.
“I said, ‘Don’t sit and watch him, start CPR’.
“She only gave him chest compressions. If she’d known what she was doing, he might still be here. The service and treatment he received was disgusting.”
The inquest found that Timothy had already been drinking cognac and beer in the morning when he met two Canadian women who were trying to complete the 21 cocktail challenge before midnight to celebrate one of their birthdays.
A pathologist in Kingston, Jamaica, called the cause of death “acute gastroenteritis from alcohol consumption.”
But the inquest heard that toxicology reports could take three years to come back from Jamaica.
Staffordshire coroner Emma Serrano has ruled the death was alcohol related.
Staffordshire coroner Emma Serrano has ruled his death in Jamaica was alcohol related
Following his death, Mr Southern’s family raised nearly £10,000 via GoFundMe to bring him back to the UK after discovering that the holiday insurance he thought he had through his bank did not, in fact, cover him.
A family statement read: ‘As you all probably know; unfortunately our father, Timmy Southern, passed away while on vacation in Jamaica.
“Unfortunately, after some searching for information about his insurance, we found out that he is not really covered by his bank (as he initially thought).
“This leaves us with an impossibly large sum of money to find to bring him home and pay for his funeral.
“We know Dad was loved by so many with friends all over the world, the greatest character most would ever meet.
“We hope by doing this we can try and raise as much money as possible to get him home so we can say goodbye as a family. Everything that remains of the collected money goes to the charity MIND.’