TWO BRITISH children orphaned when their parents drowned in a holiday boating tragedy were due to fly home from Cyprus last night.
The Paphos police chief said nine-year-old Callum Rainey – who had been taken to the town’s general hospital following yesterday’s accident – had been discharged earlier yesterday.
He and his sister Catriona, six, from Dollar, near Stirling, were due to fly out from Cyprus last night in the company of another Scottish family – Tim and Kim Allan – who were on holiday with the Raineys.
Spyros Koniotis, divisional police commander with Paphos Police, said: “Callum was released from hospital and both children are now with Mr and Mrs Allan, the friends who they had travelled here with.
The children’s father, Peter Rainey, died after he plunged into rough waters off a beach in Ayios Georgios when the inflatable dinghy carrying his wife Alison, 41, and son Callum capsized out at sea.
Rainey, a helicopter test pilot, managed to right the boat and haul his family back aboard but the dinghy capsized again about 100 yards from the beach, throwing all three into the water.
Holidaymakers and local people rushed to their aid but despite their efforts, the couple were pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Callum was also taken to hospital in Paphos where he was admitted to intensive care. He was discharged today.
His sister was not in the boat when the accident happened.
A senior official at the Cyprus Tourism Organisation said yesterday the seas in the area had been extremely rough on the day of the tragedy.
“There were force five to force six winds that day,” said Glafcos Kariolou. “We have to respect the sea on days like that. I cannot understand how they went out with such a tiny, little boat.
“Unfortunately there are no lifeguards in that area because it’s not a public beach. There’s nothing there,” he said.
Lifeguards would have been responsible for establishing whether the sea was safe for swimming. “They decide what flags to put up over their tower according to what the sea is like,” he said.
Paphos marine police yesterday confirmed the beach where the tragedy occurred was not a designated bathing area and therefore did not have a lifeguard, or any red flag warning of dangerous seas.
Kariolou added the area was actually a fishing shelter. “It is prohibited to swim at the entrance of fishing shelters, ports, marinas or commercial harbours,” he added.
The family had been holidaying near Paphos with the Allan family, who live in Muckhart, Clackmannanshire.
Koniotis said post-mortem examinations had been completed on the couple and the results showed they had drowned.
The police chief said their bodies were expected to be flown home within the next few days.
He said the police investigation into the incident was now closed and added: “This was a tragic accident, there are many eye-witnesses who saw what happened and there is no doubt that it was an accident.
“The sea is very rough in the area where it happened and they were sailing in a small dinghy with no life-jackets.”
