‘Help bring our Daniel home’
The family of a diving instructor who died while working in Australia are appealing for help to bring him home.
Sunderland AFC supporter Daniel Wright has been described by his family as “an eternal traveller who lived his life to the full”.
Just weeks after landing his dream job diving the Great Barrier Reef, Daniel died in a horrific car crash on December 18 in Queensland, Australia.
His devastated family are doing all they can to bring his body home to be with his distraught mum, Elaine Smith.
Costs to fly the 31-yearold adventurer home are expected to hit more than £10,000 after his family discovered it was not covered by his insurance.
The family say his diving insurance policy only covers non diving related incidents for the first 90 days of his policy –and this time period has recently passed.
HissisterWendyGribben said on behalf of the family: “Dan was a free spirit, an adventurer, always happy and he lived one hundred lifetimes in his short life.
“He achieved so many goals in his short life eventually working in his dream job as a dive instructor at Whitsunday Island exploring the Great Barrier Reef every day in Queensland Australia, sharing his love and passion for the ocean.
“Dan would think nothing of packing up and moving countries to find his next adventure and he made amazing lifelong friends where ever he went.
“What his friends may not have known is that he missed his home and family so much and would often get upset in his weekly calls to his mam, telling her he needed a hug.
“He was so proud to tell people he came from the beautiful cathedral city of Durham and loved the cold weather when he did come home.”
Desperate to bring Dan home, his family set up a Just Giving page and have been overwhelmed by the response. In just 24 hours, more than £5,000 had been raised with the total on Christmas Eve standing at more than £9,000 from 400 supporters.
His niece, Jessica Hay said: “We would like to say a huge thank you for your continued support.
“We are reading every beautiful tribute and appreciate every donation.
“Words cannot express how grateful we are for the kindness and generosity shown by everyone who knew Dan and those who didn’t, alike. We are truly humbled.
“Dan was a free spirit and he made friends everywhere he went.
“He’s just been the light of so many people’s lives.”
A Sunderland AFC supporter, Dan would attend games when he returned to the UK with his stepdad Geoff Smith – who has been a season ticket holder for almost 50 years.
Described as free-spirited adventurer, Dan left his home in Newton Hall ten years ago and has been travelling around the world ever since – visiting places like Bali, Malaysia, Singapore to name just a few.
Having lived in Thailand and Gibraltar – where he worked on a dolphin tour boat – Dan moved to Australia in October this year after landing his dream job as a driving instructor.
He’s trained in Thai boxing with the Grand Masters in Thailand and was highlyrespected in the diving industry.
Kind-hearted Dan was an animal lover and even took a stray dog under his wing in Thailand.
To donate to the Just Giving page visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ danwrighthome.