HOLIDAY TRAGEDY
‘She was loved by everybody’ – heartbreaking tributes to ‘beautiful’ Irish girl, 11, after horror Mallorca hotel fall
Clodagh's family are believed to have been planning to return home tonight
TRIBUTES are pouring in this evening for a young girl who died after falling from a hotel where she was staying with her family.
Clodagh Phelan, 11, from Co Wicklow was killed after plunging from the seventh floor of a Mallorcan hotel at around 6.30am this morning.
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The youngster’s relatives were said to be sleeping when she went out on the terrace and fell to her death in circumstances police were today investigating.
The 65ft fall took place at the all-inclusive three-star Club Mac resort in Puerto de Alcudia in the northeast of the Spanish island.
Tragic Clodagh was attended to by paramedics and other emergency responders but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her club, Parnell A.C. Juveniles in Rathdrum, posted the following on Facebook today: "Parnell A.C. are truly heartbroken to share the devastating news of the passing of Clodagh Phelan, one of our juvenile athletes and friend to many of our younger athletes.
"Clodagh tragically passed away following an accident on holidays.
"Clodagh was a beautiful, spirited child and a great athlete who excelled in many sports, not just athletics.
"Her family Valerie, Liam, Will, and David and extended family are in our hearts, thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
"As a mark of respect and to allow us all time to grieve the loss of Clodagh, there will be no training until further notice."
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'Loved by everybody'
Chairperson of Parnell Athletic Club and Wicklow Athletic Society Bill Porter added to the Irish Independent that Clodagh was "loved by everybody so much".
He said: "It's just a tragedy. She's such an all-rounder sportsperson - from rugby to Gaelic to camogie - and she would have been a big star in the future.
"It's a devastating blow to our club, all our friends, all the schools, and to her family.
"Everyone's on the phones all day today, and it's really hard to get our heads around it, it's going to take a while for it to sink in.
'She was lovely'
"She’s only 11 years of age and she was loved by everybody so much.
"She was lovely, she had such a great smile and such a lovely personality.
“Condolences to the family and all our club colleagues. She will be sadly missed by all our club."
An autopsy was due to take place this evening.
Return home planned
A regional emergency coordination centre has offered the youngster’s family trauma counsellors.
Clodagh's family are believed to have been planning to return home tonight.
Local police in Alcudia, who are employed by the town hall and were among the first on the scene, said in a statement: "Around 6.45 this morning an alert was received saying a person had fallen from the balcony of their apartment on the Mac Hotels hotel complex.
Police statements
"Immediately officers from this police unit as well as the Civil Guard and paramedics went to the scene.
"Once they were there they discovered an 11-year-old Irish girl who was already dead and had fallen from a seventh-floor balcony for reasons which are still being investigated.
"We wish to send our condolences to the family of this young girl. Rest in peace."
A Civil Guard spokesman in Mallorca said: “We are investigating the death of an 11-year-old Irish girl who died after plunging from a seventh-floor terrace at a hotel in Alcudia.
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“The first emergency calls came in around 6.45 this morning.”
A receptionist at Club Mac said this morning the resort was not commenting.
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