Kent tourists traumatised after witnessing safari death in Turkey – BBC News

Two friends from Kent say they are traumatised after witnessing the death of a Romanian tourist during a mountain safari in Turkey.

Faith O’Neill and Cheryl Morris, from Northfleet, near Gravesend, say they were offered no support after the incident on a tour in Alanya.

Contstantin Butnarescu, 32, a Romanian tourist on holiday with his wife and daughter, was killed instantly when the vehicle fell into a ravine, overturning and killing him instantly.

The BBC has attempted to contact the tour company, Mac-Sef Tours, but has received no response.

Ms O’Neill and Ms Morris were on a package holiday and booked the tour separately via their hotel.

They said there were around 30 people on the day trip, spread among three jeeps.

“There were parts where they were driving so fast we nearly went over,” Cheryl said. “We were quite scared at that point.”

When one of the jeeps overturned, Ms O’Neill, who is a nurse, ran to help those who were injured.

“I can’t un-see it, I can’t un-hear it, I can’t un-feel it,” she said.

She said she held Mr Butnarescu’s daughter in her arms during the incident, who was shouting “I’ve lost my daddy”.

Ms O’Neill said she called the ambulance and police, who attended the scene.

She is calling for more people to be aware of the risks of these excursions.

Love Holidays, the package holiday company that provided the hotel through which the tour was booked, said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred during Ms O’Neill’s stay in Turkey and offer our condolences to all those affected.”

They added that the tour operators were a third-party company with no association with Love Holidays.

The Turkish Interior Ministry confirmed to the BBC that Mr Butnarescu died during the safari.

An investigation to establish what happened is ongoing.