An Irish father who died in front of his son on a Spanish beach has been named as Darren Pilson.
The tourist, aged in his 50s, came into trouble while swimming off the Costa del Sol during last Monday’s ‘unprecedented’ blackout.
Witnesses pulled him out of the water but were unable to call for help due to their being no power or network coverage.
Darren was holidaying in Torremolinos when the tragic incident unfolded in front of his son and mother.
The family is said to have taken a vacation following the death of Darren’s wife just six weeks earlier, the Spanish Eye reports.
A death notice for Darren confirmed he ‘died tragically in Spain’ in April 28.
It reads: ‘Predeceased by his sister Tracy and dad Pat. Darren will be very sadly missed by his adored son Sonny, mother Maureen, aunts, uncles, cousins, extended family, neighbours and his wide circle of friends.
It added that funeral plans would be announced at a later date.
Dutch tourist Menno van Oorschot previously recalled how he pulled Darren out of the sea.
In a Facebook post Menno wrote: ‘The sea was very rough, and there was a very strong current. A rescue worker was nowhere to be seen because it’s not yet the high season.
‘As we sipped our drink on the beach, I noticed at first glance that someone was sinking in the sea about 80 meters from us.
‘Quickly and without hesitation, I threw my things to Lindsay (his wife) and reached the individual in the sea.
‘Along with many others, we brought the man onto the beach and began resuscitation.
‘Unfortunately, all our efforts weren’t successful. And the man sadly died.’
He said it suddenly dawned on him how important the internet and phones were to daily life.
He added: ‘They couldn’t call emergency services, and when the police finally arrived, the ambulance was alerted by the phone. All of this took a long time, too long…
‘What touches me most is that the man we pulled from the water with his son and grandmother was on vacation to process the loss of the boy’s mother, who had sadly died six weeks before the holiday… that hits me hard.
‘The feeling of helplessness still lingers with me, even though I know we all did everything we could to save this man’s life.’
