Benidorm bunk bed deaths

[Paul]

BBC

Two sisters on holiday in Spain suffocated when their pull-down bed frame fell on top of them.
Mildred Bowman and Alice Wardle, who are in their 60s, were asleep when the wood frame came away from the wall and collapsed on top of them.
The women, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, were crushed under its weight and suffocated in their Benidorm apartment.
A spokesman for MyTravel confirmed the sisters were found dead in bed and said customers in similar rooms were moved.
Spanish police apparently said cuts and bruises to their hands, suggest they tried in vain to free themselves.

Sounds as though it wasn't a quick painless death I hope whoever owns that apartment has the police to deal with now.

Originally Posted by Paul

[ Sounds as though it wasn't a quick painless death I hope whoever owns that apartment has the police to deal with now.

Let's not jump to conclusions. I've read two separate speculative reports today suggesting these ladies may not have put the folding legs down properly, putting extra weight on the wall fittings. Let's wait for the inquest.

Terribly sad story though. Not a nice way to go.

[Halcyon]

Just goes to show how dodgy some of these places can be. If its not this, its dodgy gas fires or some other harmful thing.
I think many of these holiday places should be given better health and safety checks more often.

Originally Posted by Halcyon

Just goes to show how dodgy some of these places can be. If its not this, its dodgy gas fires or some other harmful thing.
I think many of these holiday places should be given better health and safety checks more often.

Whoah! We don't know this was a 'dodgy' place. Most properties used by big tour operators are personally checked by their own staff for health and safety issues. Until we know what happrened we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

[Halcyon]

Yeah I guess I did assume a bit too much there.
It will be interesting to see what further reports clonclude.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by Paul

BBC

Sounds as though it wasn't a quick painless death I hope whoever owns that apartment has the police to deal with now.

Other reports have indicated that they slept on the bed without the feet in place, thus, their entire weight was supported by the wall mounts, a basic understanding of levers will highlight how much force that would be putting on the fittings that are designed to keep a bed and frame on the wall when not in use.
So user error, poor training / instructions in how to put the bed down, lack of automation in the mechanics so the feet are moved into place as the bed moves down. A whole number of other reasons.

[Jules]

Poor ladies what a horrible way to go

Speculative update:

"The family of two sisters who suffocated when their bed frame collapsed on top them are preparing to sue the hotel owners after it emerged they may have lap trapped for four days.

Relatives are reported to have taken legal action and plan to launch a case against the Levante Club apartments in Benidorm. They want to know how they accident happened and why the room was not checked by a maid.

Alice Wardle, 67, and Milly Bowman, 62, died when the frame of the fold-up bed tore away from the wall and fell on top of them as they slept. The Guardian reported that they were last seen on July 31 and were not discovered until August 4.

A MyTravel spokeswoman said staff were looking after relatives and repatriating family members who were on holiday with the sisters.

She said there was no indication that they are taking legal action against the operator.

An investigation into the deaths has been launched by MyTravel."

Posted on Travelmole.com

[Ramrod]

......from a source in the centre of the case..........They were trapped for 5 days and the hotel/tour operator 'don't have a leg to stand on'. Same person told me that there have been about 50 similar incidents in Spain in the last 10 years (no deaths obviously).

Another update: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/tyne/4138696.stm