The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Twin brother of Tayside 9/11 victim killed
Monifieth man and triathlete Allan Sword, 48, has died in a hit-and-run in Bahrain, leaving behind widow Corinne, 19 years after his twin brother Derek lost his life during 9/11.
The twin brother of an Angus man who died in the 9/ 11 terror attacks in America has been killed in a hit-and-run in Bahrain.
Triathlete Allan Sword was out for his regular Friday training cycle with friends when he was knocked off his bike and killed.
The driver of the vehicle failed to stop, but a man was later arrested and faces charges over the 48-yearold’s death.
The tragedy comes 19 years after Allan’s twin brother Derek was killed in the September 11 terror attacks on New York.
Derek was in World Trade Centre Two when the building was struck by a hijacked passenger jet.
Hi s body was never found.
Allan and Derek’s parents Irene and David Sword live in Monifieth.
Mr s Sword said the family, including elder brother Graeme, were struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
Covid restrictions have meant they have been unable to travel to Bahrain to provide comfort and support to Allan’ s devastated widow, Corinne.
“It really is hard to comprehend,” Mrs Sword said.
“It was 4am when Corinne phoned and said Allan had been in an accident and he had died.
“At that time it is difficult to take things in, but when I sit down I think ‘is this real, is this real?’.”
Allan, who has two grown-up children from his first marriage, student Gregor, 19, and Halle, 18, had lived in the Gulf State for the past 13 years and had carved out a successful career with Bank ABC.
He joined the group in 2007 and was appointed chief operating officer, group wholesale banking, in the summer of 2018.
Bank ABC group chief executive Dr Khaled Kawan paid emotional tribute to his friend and colleague in a video message to staff.
He said Mr Sword was a trusted mentor, a hero and someone the bank turned to whenever there was “heavy lifting” required.
“The whole of Bank ABC and a great deal of the expat community in Bahrain today are in a deep grief and proud that Allan Sword was one of us,” Dr Kawan said.
“I would like to remember Allan as a man of content and character.
“He treated everyone with kindness, with respect.
“Sometimes he causes you to believe the job he was doing is easy, anyone of us could do it, although it was an extremely difficult and complex task.
“A capacity to love everyone, to extend dignity and respect to every one of his colleagues. Sometimes, without ourselves, he would be there at night to reassure us, to reassure his colleagues and to lead the way ahead.”
Tributes were also paid to Mr Sword from the sporting community in the state, where he trained for and contested triathlons and Ironman events.
In an interview with The Daily Tribune in Bahrain, Dr Sheikh Saqr bin Salman Al Khalifa, chairman of the Bahrain Triathlon Club, said he would be sadly missed.
“The Bahraini sports community has lost one of its main pillars and founding members of triathlon here,” he said.
Mr Sword’s wife is now making arrangements to repatriate his body to the UK.
His mother said the family was being sustained by messages of condolence from friends and family around the world.
They include a personal tribute from the Crown Prince of Bahrain, made through Bank ABC.
Mr Sword said: “It is just so, so devastating.
“Nobody would believe that both Allan and Derek could be taken just like that.”
Itis impossible to comprehend what Allan Sword’s family must be feeling following his death in a hit-and-run accident in Bahrain, 19 years after his twin brother Derek was killed in the September 11 terror attacks in New York.
To lose a loved one in tragic circumstances is heartbreaking; to lose two is unthinkable. We can only hope they find comfort in the tributes that have been paid in the wake of Allan’s death and the knowledge that he honoured his brother by making the most of every moment of his time on Earth.