Climbing instructor and lifeguard Alexander Barrett died trying to save partner Sarah Thompson from flash floods on Majorca hike
A boyfriend who tried to save his partner from flash floods on Majorca hike was “genuinely a good person”, his grieving family has said.
Climbing instructor and lifeguard, Alexander Barrett, tried to help his partner, Sarah Thompson, as a “wall of water” cascaded down a canyon, an inquest has heard. The couple were making their descent with a group of other hikers, when the tragedy struck.
Stockport Coroner’s Court was told 32-year-old Mr Barrett and 26-year-old Ms Thompson were both swept to their deaths, with Ms Thompson’s body recovered by Spanish search and rescue teams on September 4 last year, the day after the flood, and Mr Barrett’s body found on September 6 in the Torrent de Pareis canyon in the Tramuntana mountains.
The couple, from Offerton, near Stockport, had gone on the informal hiking trip with friends, all hiking and climbing enthusiasts, making their separate ways to Majorca. On the trip was Luke Weaver, who knew Mr Barrett as a friend and climbing instructor at Awesome Walls, an indoor climbing centre in Stockport.
“We all had a mutual passion for climbing and hiking,” he said in a statement read at the inquest. Mr Weaver, on the trip with his partner, said the hike they planned to do, which took three to four hours to complete, was well known globally and known to be “challenging in places”.
He had completed the hike before on several occasions, but neither Ms Thompson nor Mr Barrett had, but he considered it was “well within the capabilities” of the group, he said. Mr Weaver said he was aware the gorge flooded so he checked the weather forecast on the morning of September 3 last year, which only predicted rain from 6pm, by which time they would be “well clear”.
He added: “Had I known what was to happen, I would never have let them into the gorge.”
Mr Weaver said he dropped the group of friends off for the hike and intended to catch them up after parking his car, but was delayed in heavy traffic by around two hours, before he could begin the hike himself. It had been a hot morning, before a storm moved in and at around 2.30pm it began to drizzle with rain but Mr Weaver said this did not cause any concern as he continued the hike to meet with his partner and friends ahead of him.
However, a short time later it started to rain more heavily and he could hear thunder in the distance and he began to quicken his pace. He said as there was no phone signal in the gorge so he could not make contact with them.
As the downpour grew Mr Weaver said he spotted his friends, who were now with a German couple and two Spanish nationals, in a “bottleneck” between two boulders. “At this point the heavens opened,” Mr Weaver said. “At this time the water was flowing like a small river.”
Mr Weaver said he was helping the hikers through the bottleneck and he gestured to Ms Thompson if she was “OK” and she replied yes but with a “nervous smile”. He then heard someone shout, “Water!”
“Seconds later a massive wall of water came down the gorge,” Mr Weaver said. “The water appeared to come from nowhere. The sound was incredibly loud, people were screaming.”
Mr Weaver said he could see one of the group had managed to grab onto a rock while one of the Spanish nationals had been swept into the torrent and was being carried away. His own partner managed to get out of the water and after a few minutes others emerged from the deluge, but Mr Weaver said the noise of the water was too loud to communicate with each other.
“I was shouting and screaming for the others. I could see no-one,” Mr Weaver said.
Ms Thompson had been seen being swept away along with her partner, who had tried to help before the current took him too, the inquest heard.
Later the survivors were airlifted out of the gorge by helicopter, suffering only minor injuries. Mr Weaver added: “Everyone who survived that day is incredibly lucky, especially those who got caught in the water. I have never experienced anything like this and it is something I will never forget.”
Paul Rodman, Mr Barrett’s father, said his son “loved life” and relished the outdoors, from hiking to surfing, adding: “He was genuinely a good person, a caring person, a kind person.
“The friends and family have developed a little saying, ‘Be more like Alex’ because that’s what we aspire to be. He’s missed so much by all his friends and family.”
Ms Thompson’s father, Peter Thompson, who lives in Berwick-upon-Tweed, said his daughter “was never without a smile on her face”.
She had represented Cumbria at fell running in national competitions, had a degree in photography from Manchester Metropolitan University, and had recently been promoted in the donations team at The Christie hospital in Manchester.
Post-mortem examinations gave the cause of death as drowning for both the deceased.
Jyoti Gill, assistant coroner for Manchester South, recorded a verdict of accidental death caused by drowning for both Ms Thompson and Mr Barrett, whose legal name was Alexander Johnson, but was known by the name Alex Barrett.
Ms Gill said the storm had caused flash flooding, sending a large torrent of water down the canyon. “It appears water dragged Sarah, and Alex had tried to help her,” Ms Gill added.
“Sadly, both Sarah and Alex were unable to climb to safety and were swept away by the floodwaters,” she concluded.