Brit vacationer, 47, dies after Thailand vacation as household face £11k prices
Damian Langley, 47, fell ill while travelling home from Thailand and passed away in Qatar. His devastated family now face an £11,000 repatriation bill after he travelled without travel insurance
Damian Langley with his beloved dog Jackson(Image: family handout)
A “caring” man who “lived to make people giggle”died while travelling back from Thailand, and his family now face horrific costs. Damian Langley, 47, thrilled his family with snaps and clips of himself soaking up the sun in the beloved holiday hotspot after jetting off with pals earlier this month.
He was due to touch down at Manchester Airport on April 21. But on April 19 his sister Nicola, 31, got a phone call from one of his mates, telling her that her brother had suddenly taken poorly.
She said: “They didn’t want to worry me. He had asked them not to tell me. But he had abdominal pains and he was complaining of seeing things. He was hallucinating. I said can you put him on the phone to me, but they said he’s asleep at the minute, he hadn’t been sleeping well.”
Nicola was told not to panic, and that the group would be back in St Helens by Thursday, April 23. They flew from Bangkok to Qatar on April 21, but while waiting for their connecting flight back to Manchester, Damian’s condition worsened dramatically.
Nicola said: “On the fight to Qatar he said ‘I really don’t feel well. I’ve got the worst pain in my tummy I’ve ever had’. So they took him to the medical centre at the Qatar airport. The medical people said he’s not going to make the flight, but gave him fluids and said they’d put him on the 7.30am flight on April 22nd, which would have brought him to Manchester for 2.30pm.”
Damian’s mates jetted back to the UK, while Nicola arranged to pick up her brother from the airport the following day. Yet, after repeatedly ringing Qatar airport, she was eventually told that Damian’s boarding pass remained open – meaning he had never boarded the aircraft, reports the Mirror.
What ensued was a torturous 24 hours as she desperately contacted hospitals throughout Qatar, frantically attempting to discover what had happened to her brother. Nicola said: “It felt like someone was sat on my chest. I couldn’t concentrate. I was stood outside my work car park on the phone getting so frustrated because I was in a frenzy trying to find out how to get hold of him.”
Heartbreakingly, the family received the most crushing news when police turned up at their door at around 8.45am on Friday, April 24. They were told that Damian’s condition had deteriorated dramatically, and he had been rushed to intensive care at Al Wakra Hospital in Qatar. He suffered pancreatitis and organ failure, and passed away on April 23.
His family now confront a punishing financial battle, as bringing Damian’s body back to the UK could cost as much as £11,000. Devastatingly, the labourer, who lived in Parr, had not purchased travel insurance before his trip – something his family had been oblivious to. Nicola said: “For me, it’s like I’m trying to get all of this sorted so he’ll come home and walk through the door. It doesn’t feel like I’m bringing him home only for him not to be here any more.
“Working to get him home is like I’ve got a purpose. When you’re just sat there with your own thoughts, it hits you like a ton of bricks. I just found myself sitting in his bedroom looking at his stuff. My mum and dad were in bits. He was their first child and my mum was just 17 when he was born. They’re really not coping well.
“I’ve been at my mum’s house since Friday, and for 48 hours we didn’t have a minute of sleep, because as soon as you get five minutes of silence we’re sobbing. It got to the point we crashed and had a few hours sleep. But then you wake up in the morning and it hits you in the face straight away.”
Nicola revealed Damian had battled with alcohol previously, and had abstained from drinking for about two years before embarking on his Thailand adventure. She believed he kept the holiday a secret from his family as they knew he would be surrounded by people drinking and partying.
She explained: “He didn’t tell my dad because he knew he’d say ‘why go there when you know they’re all going to be drinking?’. The day he went, he said he was going to the gym – but in his bag was all of his stuff for Thailand, and he messaged our mum when he was out there.
“Damian lived every day as it came. He wanted everything to be fun. He was always laughing, trying to make everyone laugh, coming out with one-liners. Our middle brother is very serious, and they were completely chalk and cheese.
“His dog was his absolute world. He was called Jackson but we called him nightmare. If you saw the dog, you knew Damian wouldn’t be far away. Because he always had the dog to go home to, it gave him that stability. He was very caring. if there was ever a problem he’d listen to you and give advice you’d never even think of, and give a different spin on things. He’d give you his last pound. If he had a pound you both had 50p.
“All he ever wanted was to make you laugh. He was always cracking jokes and making people laugh or doing daft things. He lived to make people giggle. He was obsessed with gadgets and fixing things. He still has four bikes in my dad’s garage that he was fixing for his friends.”
A crowdfunding page set up by Damian’s mate Melissa Newman aims to raise £9,000 to assist with the costs of repatriating his body to the UK and covering his funeral expenses. Melissa said: “As I’m sure those of you who knew Dame, knew he was a larger than life character, and put a smile on everyone’s face. He brightened every room he was in, I’m sure his friends and family would agree there was never a dull moment when Dame was around.
“We’ve created this Gofundme to help raise funds to bring Dame home, as he passed away overseas this can be costly but we want to help his family in any way we can so we can give him a proper send off and say our goodbyes.”
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