Inquest told of fatal slip
A 20-year-old Telford man who plunged to his death in a Spanish gorge had not been properly dressed for a trek in the mountains, a Wellington inquest heard. A 20-year-old Telford man who plunged to his death in a Spanish gorge had not been properly dressed for a trek in the mountains, a Wellington inquest heard. Shane Solon had been constantly slipping on his smooth-soled Lacoste trainers when he and two friends got lost on a descent after the weather turned bad. Mr Solon was on a ledge between two waterfalls when he slipped off the wet rock and landed on a rock in the torrent below, the inquest was told. Telford & Wrekin Coroner Michael Gwynne recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Solon, of North Road, Wellington. Read the full story in today's Shropshire Star
Mr Solon was on a ledge between two waterfalls when he slipped off the wet rock and landed on a rock in the torrent below, the inquest was told.
Michael Gwynne, Telford & Wrekin Coroner, recorded a verdict of accidental death on Mr Solon, of North Road, Wellington.
The part-time DJ, who lived with his mother Caroline, 42, sisters 22-year-old Nina, and Ella, 14, and 19-year-old brother Martin, had just started work as a children's holiday rep on the Costa Brava in Spain.
He and two fellow reps - Stuart Coleman, of Tamworth, and Sam Hamoudi, of Manchester - set off for an adventure park in the French Pyrenees on their day off on April 21.
But they had forgotten their passports so they instead left their car in a popular parking area for tourists on the Spanish side of the mountains.
The three men followed a path up the mountains in perfect weather for more than two hours until they reached the snowline when mist came down and it started raining and hailing.
Mr Coleman said they had started following the path back down to escape the storm but had got lost, ending up in a steep grassy and rocky area by two waterfalls.
"Shane was wearing tracksuit bottoms, a football shirt and flat-soled trainers and he was slipping a lot," Mr Coleman said.
He said the terrain had been too dangerous for them to go on and they had been on the point of trying to go back up when Shane slipped off a wet and slippery ledge, somersaulted and fell about seven metres into a gorge.
Mr Hamoudi said: "He was lying on his back on a large flat rock with his arms sprawled to his side. We shouted to him but he didn't respond."
Mr Hamoudi climbed up the hill to get a mobile phone signal and called emergency services while Mr Coleman tried unsuccessfully to reach Mr Solon.
A mountain rescue team recovered the body.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Solon had been knocked unconscious and died from inhaling blood.
By Peter Johnson
