British mother, 30, faces £50,00 Turkish hospital bill after she was thrown off cliff with son, 10, in horrific safari buggy crash on Tui trip
- Rebekka Kelly, 30, booked a TUI package trip to Turkey with her eldest son Sonny
- They booked a buggy safari tour around Antalya via a TUI rep on September 2
- The buggy then ‘flew off a cliff’ and left Ms Kelly unconscious and in hospital
A British mum has been left stranded in a Turkish hospital facing a £50,000 medical bill after a horrific safari buggy crash which saw her ‘thrown’ off a cliff with her 10-year-old son.
Rebekka Kelly, 30, booked a TUI package holiday to Antalya, Turkey with her eldest son, Sonny, 10, after her youngest, Leo, five, was due to go away with his dad.
However, the holiday quickly took a turn for the worst after a horrific accident led to Ms Kelly being rushed to hospital.
Ms Kelly and her son booked a buggy safari tour via a TUI rep for September 2 but their initial buggy was ‘failing’ so they were given a new one to replace it.
Rebekka Kelly (pictured), 30, booked a TUI package holiday to Antalya, Turkey with her eldest son, Sonny (pictured), 10, after her youngest, Leo, five, was due to go away with his dad
However, problems with the steering wheel led to a serious incident in which the buggy ‘flew off a cliff’.
Ms Kelly, who said her seatbelt also failed, was ‘thrown out of the buggy’ and lost consciousness.
After the accident, the mum was rushed to hospital for two major operations having broken seven vertebra in her spine and her pelvis as well as an internal bleed. Two weeks on she remains in hospital.
Adding to the trauma, Ms Kelly now faces fears that her insurance won’t cover her and she faces hospital bills of more than £50,000.
Ms Kelly, from Birkenhead, Merseyside, said: ‘I booked with the TUI rep at the hotel and it was advertised with insurance cover. I had holiday insurance myself but that won’t cover the accident because it’s classed as an off-road sport.
‘But despite advertising the excursion with insurance cover, we haven’t heard anything as to whether I will be covered.
‘My sister-in-law has called every Tom, Dick and Harry but is getting nowhere. I’m fed up, I just want to get home.
However, the holiday quickly took a turn for the worst after a horrific accident led to Ms Kelly being rushed to hospital. Pictured: Ms Kelly with her two sons
‘While the steering failed, my seat belt failed to keep me in the buggy and I was thrown out down the cliff, thankfully Sonny’s seatbelt kept him in. I feel if my seatbelt actually did its job I wouldn’t have the injuries I have.’
Ms Kelly’s brother, Rocky, said Sonny is back in the UK with him, ‘battered and bruised’ and extremely upset.
Trying to get his sister home, Rocky said they ‘just don’t know what to do’. He said online, the trip ‘advertises insurance as included’.
Rocky added: ‘The hospital have been hounding her for money, she’s been there for two weeks. She was told she could come home via air ambulance this week but nothing has been arranged.
‘She had her own holiday insurance but the small print said they weren’t insured for this accident, they were nice don’t get me wrong but the TUI excursion advertises its own insurance cover as part of the deal.
‘She’s in a bad way. She can’t get out of bed, she’s away from her two children. TUI aren’t getting back to us, we need to get her back home so she can have more surgery in the UK but we can’t get through to anyone.
‘We are really concerned about her. If TUI aren’t willing to pay out the insurance and pay the medical bill we don’t know what we are going to do, we don’t have that kind of money and through no fault of her own she’s facing this.
‘These injuries are going to change her life and we still don’t know the true extent until she’s home. Sonny is crying, he’s in so much pain emotionally.
‘We’ve made hundreds of phone calls to TUI, they are supplying flights so we can see her but we’ve heard nothing about the insurance cover.
After the accident, the mum was rushed to hospital for two major operations having broken seven vertebra in her spine and her pelvis as well as an internal bleed. Two weeks on she remains in hospital
‘We haven’t a clue what is going in. It says on the advert the price includes insurance so why aren’t they helping? Rebekka is really struggling. She has no memory of how she got to the hospital, she was knocked unconscious.’
Rocky went on to say he feels the family are being ‘neglected’ by TUI and are worried about how they can raise the funds to get Rebekka home.
Rocky said: ‘An air ambulance itself is about £20,000. It’s disgusting and cruel, she was on holiday and she has been left by those responsible for her health. It’s not her fault she’s had this accident but she has been left there.
‘Nothing has been arranged for her to come home, she needs to stay in hospital once home as well. My partner put a post on Facebook and it’s had hundreds of comments with similar stories. We’ve heard people have died on this excursion, why are people’s lives being put at risk?
‘We’ve been told the medical bill alone is around £50,000, we haven’t had one call from TUI explaining any thing, we are extremely worried about Rebekka as her mental state is deteriorating rapidly.’
TUI has been approached for comment.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help cover Ms Kelly’s medical bills and return to the UK.
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