Scots soldier dies in 70f t balcony plunge during boozy party
A SCOTTISH soldier died after plunging 70ft from a seventhfloor hotel room in Poland.
Corporal Ryan Lovatt, 25, was partying in the room in Warsaw when he fell to his death at 3am earlier this month.
British troops are based in the country as part of the Nato operation Battle Group Poland, which is intended to counter Russian aggression.
Corporal Lovatt, from Torrance, Dunbartonshire, is understood to have been at an alcohol-fuelled party attended by ‘several dozen’ Army personnel.
An investigation has been launched into the tragedy in the city’s Wola district, but it is currently being treated as an accident.
This week, family, friends and colleagues of Corporal Lovatt paid tribute to the former Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineer.
His Army veteran father Colin, 49, wrote on Facebook: ‘It is with heartbreaking sadness that I am placing this on social media, however I am aware that it is the best way to let all know.
‘Our beautiful boy Ryan will be laid to rest on Wednesday.’
James Fordyce, a family friend, said: ‘Your son followed in your footsteps and has made the ultimate sacrifice for his country. Thoughts are with you and your family from Carol-Anne and myself.’
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said yesterday: ‘We can confirm an incident occurred in Warsaw on August 1 in which a service person from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers has died.
‘Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends at this sad time.
‘An investigation by the Polish police supported by the Royal Military Police is under way, therefore it is inappropriate to comment further.’
The funeral of former Glasgow university student Corporal Lovatt was held at Clydebank Crematorium on Wednesday, with his coffin draped in the Union Flag.
Last year, the Foreign Office warned Britons not to take risks on hotel balconies after 11 people died in a three-month period – with eight in their teens or 20s. Among the victims was Scottish teenager Natalie Cormack who fell to her death from a seventh-floor apartment in Majorca in April 2018.
Spanish police said the 19year-old had tried to climb from one balcony to another after losing her keys when she returned home from work at a bar in Magaluf.
In July, Monica McGeachie, 30, of Dunoon, Argyll, was left in a coma for three weeks with brain injuries, a broken back and ankles after falling from a hotel window that was missing its glass pane at the Piscis Park getaway in Ibiza.
She is understood to have regained consciousness but is still in intensive care.
‘Heartbreaking sadness’