TUI tragedy as 'lovely' young man dies in hotel lift shaft on family holiday

A young British man has died after being found injured in a hotel lift shaft on a TUI family holiday in Turkey. Tyler Kerry, a 20-year-old labourer from Basildon in Essex, was discovered on Friday morning at the bottom of the lift shaft in the hotel he was staying at in Antalya.

Mr Kerry’s uncle, Alex Price, said his nephew was found at 7am local time (4am GMT). He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“I got a phone call from my sister and she just said that Tyler had been found in the lift shaft at the hotel,” Mr Price told the PA news agency. “An ambulance team were attending to him but unfortunately they weren’t able to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Mr Kerry, who was on holiday with his girlfriend Molly and grandparents Colette and Ray, has been described as a “lovely young man”.

“He had a stable girlfriend and they were thinking about moving in together,” Mr Price said. “They were very settled, he was quite a mature young man for his age, very compassionate and kind, caring towards his family members and his younger siblings.”

Mr Price said the family are being supported by the British consular in Antalya and a representative from TUI who were the tour operator for the holiday. He said they hope to have his nephew’s body repatriated to the UK by Tuesday.

Nearly £4,800 has been pledged so far to a fundraiser to cover Mr Kerry’s funeral costs. Mr Price said the family want a full inquiry into the circumstances of his nephew’s death.

“The details are limited at the moment,” he said. “The family is still in the dark about what’s happened and are eager for a thorough investigation to find out what’s happened.”

An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are assisting the family of a British man who has died in Turkey.”

A spokesperson for TUI said: "We’d like to share our sincere condolences to the family of Tyler Kerry, who sadly passed away while on holiday in Turkey. We will continue to provide around-the-clock support to Tyler’s family during this difficult time.

"As there is now a police investigation, we are unable to comment further."