Mystery as Brit vacationer, 21, ‘collapses and dies’ in Turkey throughout dad’s birthday journey
Branigan Heald, 21, died after collapsing in the street in Turkey during his dad’s 50th birthday celebrations – his family are desperate for answers as they mourn his tragic death
Branigan Smith died on holiday in Turkey(Image: Handout)
A 21 -year-old British holidaymaker collapsed in the street and died in Turkey while on a family getaway to mark his father’s 50th birthday. Branigan Heald was rushed to hospital, where doctors battled for 50 minutes attempting to revive him, before he was declared dead in the early hours of August 29 last year.
Now, eight months later, with the cause of their cherished son’s death remaining a mystery, his family say they continue to seek answers. Mum Lisa Heald, 46, said: “We’d had a lovely holiday. We went for a week, we had a boat trip for my husband’s 50th which was fun. On the Thursday we went out for a meal, everything was lovely.
“That Thursday night, Branigan wasn’t ill, he didn’t say he had a headache or anything like that. He had his tea – a steak – and four beers. We were walking back to a bar on the corner near our hotel and he just collapsed.”
A passerby rushed to administer CPR to Branigan, from Radcliffe, while an ambulance was summoned. “The ambulance came quite quickly although I thought it was an absolute eternity,” Lisa said.
The family were prevented from travelling in the ambulance with their son to hospital and by the time they reached the medical facility, doctors were already treating Branigan, the Manchester Evening News reports.
However, at around 12.25am medics delivered the devastating news to his loved ones. Lisa said: “They came out and said ‘we’ve tried for 50 minutes, we’re sorry he is unresponsive’.”
Heartbreakingly, the family was denied the chance to bid a final farewell, with Branigan transported over 230km to Antalya for a post-mortem examination. “We were due to fly back on the Saturday,” explained Lisa. “As his mum I said ‘I can’t go home and leave him here’, but they drove him to Antalya for a post-mortem. They wouldn’t let me see him.”
Branigan was ultimately repatriated to London Gatwick on September 3, before the coroner requested a Home Office post-mortem at Royal Oldham Hospital seeking clues about the cause of his death. Lisa states the post-mortem provided ‘no indication’ as to what might have occurred.
With the family continuing their quest for answers, they’ve been informed Branigan may have experienced a young sudden cardiac death. Lisa reveals the coroner has instructed Turkish authorities to supply their documentation from Branigan’s post-mortem in Antalya. It’s anticipated these records could finally offer some resolution to the family.
“Hopefully by the end of June we will have some kind of answer,” Lisa explained. “As his mum, I’ve gone over that night – during the day, did he disappear at any point not feeling well? There was nothing. That night was no different from any other night.”
Lisa and James are also worried about their two daughters – Mackenzie, 27, and Daisy, 14 – as they cannot undergo screening for potential problems until the family understands what they should be monitoring. “I’m living in fear every time Mackenzie wants to go on holiday,” admitted Lisa. “But would [Branigan’s death] have happened here anyway? Was it always going to be that day? There are so many questions that nobody has been able to answer.”
Branigan was a fit young lad, his mum said, who hit the gym four times a week and had no underlying health issues. The family were also unable to see his body once he was brought back to the UK.
“When I asked to see him, the undertaker said ‘we can’t tell you no, we’d never do that, but they do things differently in different countries and I wouldn’t want you to have that image for the rest of your life’. That’s something else that we lost, that last goodbye. Everything was just taken away.”
Branigan was “obsessed with travel” and studied travel and tourism at Bury College before embarking on an apprenticeship at Hays Travel, in Swinton, where he organised the holiday for a group of 12 to celebrate his dad’s 50th birthday and sorted out travel insurance.
The Bolton Wanderers supporter was also a passionate footballer having played at school, starting off at Radcliffe Juniors at a tender age before moving to Westbury. The two clubs will stage a match at Radcliffe FC’s Neuven Stadium in his memory to raise funds for the British Heart Foundation at 7.30pm on Friday, May 22.
