A BRITISH woman tragically fell to her death hours into her holiday in Benidorm. 

Marie Riley, 37, died just seven hours after arriving at the Sol Pelicanos Ocas hotel on the evening of March 7.

She had travelled from Paisley, Scotland to enjoy a trip with her partner Lynne at the famous holiday destination.

The accommodation is a popular tourist hotspot – best known among many British holidaymakers as the stand-in for the fictional Solana hotel in the ITV show Benidorm. 

An eyewitness told the Daily Record she watched in horror as Marie fell from the balcony.

Screen Shot 2022 03 12 At 11.48.07
Sol Pelicanos Ocas in Benidorm (Credit: Google Maps)

Jane, 54, from Plymouth, said: “I was sitting with my chair to the back of the balcony and my friend Stu was sitting facing it.

“We were sat there chatting and all of a sudden there was this horrendous noise.

“I said ‘What was that?’ and I saw something just out the corner of my eye and I flinched.

“Stu shouted ‘Oh my god, that was a person’ and he just lost it. It all happened so quick.

Screen Shot 2022 03 12 At 11.52.10
Marie Riley (left), with wife Lynne

“I was in denial but he insisted: ‘It was, it was, it was.’

“He said there was a woman dead on the floor.

“I just didn’t believe him.

“He ran down to the reception to tell them and I edged my way onto the balcony to look.”

She added: “Even then, I didn’t believe it was true.

“I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.

“It must be awful for her poor wife. I can’t imagine what she’s going through.”

Heartbroken wife Lynne told of her agony in a post on social media as she announced the tragic news.

She said: “I never thought I would be writing this but my gorgeous wife had an accident last night and unfortunately lost her beautiful life I don’t know where or what to do but please bear with me and respect my privacy just now to try get my head round this I appreciate all your message and if I don’t reply please understand how hard this is.”

Friends and family of the Scot flooded social media with tributes to Marie, who was described as “a beautiful lassie” and “genuinely one in a million”.

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “We are assisting the family of a British woman following an incident in Benidorm and in contact with the Spanish authorities.”

READ ALSO:

Subscribe to the Olive Press

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.