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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ashley Pemberton & Lila Randall

Brit, 19, drowns in Ibiza pool after group bought £3,000 of drugs on first night

A teenager who died hours after arriving in Ibiza had 39 times the drug-drive limit of ketamine in his system.

Ben Crawford, 19, had been drinking heavily and had taken cocaine on the night of his death on the Spanish party island in 2018.

Mr Crawford, from West Yorkshire, was found unresponsive in a swimming pool in a private villa where he was staying with ten friends.

A toxicology report found Mr Crawford had 0.78 milligrams of ketamine per litre of blood - 39 times the UK drug driving limit of 0.02mg/l.

The group had bought £3,000 worth of drugs in Ibiza.

An inquest into his death found the combination of drugs, drink and a lack of food played a part in him passing out and falling into the pool.

Ben Crawford drowned in a swimming pool at a private villa in Ibiza (SOLARPIX.COM)

Spanish authorities recorded his death as asphyxiation, caused by submersion in water.

Wakefield Coroners' Court heard how the group, who are affiliated with Upton rugby league club in West Yorks, had been drinking from early morning on July 7, 2018, in a minibus to the airport.

They continued drinking at the airport and on the plane before clubbing their money together and buying "cocaine, ketamine and pills" when they arrived on the island.

Tommy Owen, 20, told the inquest that around eight of the group were "chilling" in the pool in the early hours of the morning and people last saw Mr Crawford sat on the side of the pool.

He said: "I was either getting in or out of the pool and I felt something on my foot. I looked down and it was Ben.

"I shouted 'does anyone know CPR?' and people were confused. I swam down to pull him out."

Three pals performed CPR while they waited for the ambulance to arrive, which Mr Owen said took around 45 minutes.

Paramedics tried to save the 19-year-old but it was too late (SOLARPIX.COM)

Tragically, efforts to resuscitate Mr Crawford failed and he was pronounced dead at around 6am on Sunday, July 8.

Mr Crawford, a talented rugby player and apprentice engineer, also had "one and three quarter times the English drink drive limit".

Senior Coroner Kevin McLoughlin told the inquest in his experience, he had come across cases of people taking drugs in Ibiza that are "more potent" than in the UK.

He said: "People might only be used to taking drugs in England casually, but have no basis for the strength of drugs in Ibiza.

"Drugs have a greater level of strength than in England.

"People might think they are buying the same quantity, but it is much more potent.

He said he could not say for sure how Mr Crawford ended up in the pool, but he believed the amount of drink and drugs, combined with a lack of food, could have made the teenager tired and led to him falling asleep at the side of the pool and falling in.

Returning a verdict of accidental death, he added that having such little food in his system could have had a sedentary effect that caused him to fall asleep or pass out.

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