A British tourist in Jamaica died after trying to drink all 21 cocktails listed on a bar’s menu alongside two Canadian women as part of a challenge, an inquest has found.
Timothy Southern, 53, was on holiday in May 2022 with his children, sister and other family members, staying at the Royal Decameron Club Caribbean in Jamaica’s tourist town of Saint Ann.
He had been drinking beer and brandy that morning, the inquest found, when he joined a pair of Canadian tourists who were trying to complete the 21-cocktail challenge before midnight to celebrate one of their birthdays, ITV reported.
The inquest was conducted to discover the timeline of the day’s events and determine the exact cause of death.
The inquest heard that Southern made it through 12 of the drinks when he decided to return to his hotel room.
Family members raised the alarm when they found him there, the Stoke Sentinel, a U.K. outlet, reported.
One of them told his inquest: “He was on his back choking. I put him in the recovery position and screamed for an ambulance. He was making a gurgling sound. As soon as he was in the recovery position he vomited. I was shouting his name with no response.
The relative told the inquest that even when a nurse arrived to help, little was done — an ambulance had not been called and the nurse did not take action to save him, they said.
“I thought she would take over. But that was not the case,” the family member said.
“I said, ‘Don’t just sit there looking at him, start CPR.’ She only gave him chest compressions. Maybe if she had known what she was doing, maybe he would still be here.
“The service and treatment he received was disgusting,” the outlet reported the family member saying.
According to ITV, a pathologist in Jamaica ruled the cause of death “acute gastroenteritis due to alcohol consumption.”
A GoFundMe was created last year to help pay for Southern’s funeral and the costs associated with bringing his body back to the U.K.