THE GRIEVING dad of two British backpackers killed in a Vietnam waterfall
tragedy told of his heartache as he released a poignant new photo.
Beth Anderson, 24, her half-sister Izzy Squire, 19, and former Navy sailor
Christian Sloan, 25, died at the Datanla falls in Lam Dong province.
The sisters were seven weeks into a backpacking tour of Asia, which had
already taken them to Cambodia and Thailand, when the accident happened last
Friday.
Their dad David Squire, 49, yesterday posted a photograph of his three
daughters, Beth, Izzy and Molly, 26, lying on the grass during a trip to
London.
He wrote: “Thank you to everyone who’s posted, to everyone who’s sent us
flowers and cards and for all your messages of love and support, by voice,
in person or text.
“This is us, lying on a green near the King’s Road as we went on a hunt
for Made in Chelsea celebs, for Iz of course.”
He added: “I had three daughters. Now there’s only one who can call me
dad. Let’s stick together Molls.”
The family, from Sheffield, said “two bright lights have gone out” –
adding: “Sisters Beth and Izzy were living a life of adventure and did
so, right to the end.”
Beth was a fashion student at Middlesex University, while Izzy recently left
sixth form at Silverdale School, Sheffield, and working at a Starbucks.
Facebook pictures show them riding elephants, ballooning and trekking jungle
days before the tragedy.
Science grad Christian, of Deal, Kent, had worked for DFDS Seaways after
leaving the Navy.
It is still unclear how the three Britons died.
Visitors to Datanla pay £80 for a day at the falls, which draw thousands of
thrill-seekers who abseil down cliffs and leap into lakes.
The trio’s guide, who has been questioned by Vietnamese police, claims they
had ignored his pleas to stay away from a dangerous part of the waterfall.
Dang Van Sy, 26, told police: “After sliding down, the male tourist
walked toward a cliff near a dangerous whirlpool on the stream, and the
women were one metre behind him.
“I know that place is dangerous so I shouted to ask them to stay away
from that.
“But they ignored me, jumping down to the stream, still with their life
vests.
“Then the man walked back to the women behind him, but he slipped into
the whirlpool and was immediately swept away, down to the waterfall.”
READ MORE:
Adam
Johnson’s girlfriend Stacey Flounders will NEVER take him back, says her dad
Storm
Jake to bring another 4 inches of snow overnight and a freezing cold blast
of -4ºC
Video
shows horrible moment a man throws a helpless dog to a polar bear
The guide claimed that he immediately jumped into the stream and shouted at
the two women to stand up and resist the current.
But they too were swept away. All three are understood to have died from head
injuries.
Vietnamese tourism chiefs have now suspended all adventure tour activities at
the waterfalls.
A senior official accused local companies of taking “human life lightly”.