Orla Wates | Source: Facebook/The Mirror

Orla Wates, 19, Passes Away During Trip Before Enrolling at Durham University, Saving 3 Lives

She had the whole world ahead of her. A place at Durham University was waiting, south-east Asia was her playground, and by all accounts, Vietnam had already stolen her heart. Then, on a winding mountain road in the north of the country, everything changed.

Orla Wates, a 19-year-old British student, passed away at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in Hanoi on 2 April 2026, following a motorbike collision on the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam.

A woman photographed riding a motorbike past the Duc Giang Lao Cai chemical plant in the Tang Loong Industrial Park on 19 March 2026 in Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. | Source: Getty Images

Wates had been making her way through south-east Asia on her gap year, just weeks before she was due to start her studies at Durham University. The Ha Giang Loop is a roughly 350 km route winding through the mountains of northern Vietnam, near the Chinese border.

Popular with tourists and backpackers, the multi-day journey typically takes three to four days by motorbike, passing through some of the country’s most dramatic highland scenery.

A tourist rides pillion on a motorbike through heavy traffic in Vietnam, reflecting the popularity of guided scooter tours | Source: Pexels

However, it is frequently navigated by inexperienced riders travelling pillion with tour operators, and the road has a troubling history. According to reports, a French woman and a Spanish man lost their lives when their motorbike collided with a truck trailer in 2018.

A year before that, another Spanish national passed away after riding off a cliff. As for Wates, she had been riding pillion when the driver lost control.

Vehicles photographed driving past the Duc Giang Lao Cai chemical plant in the Tang Loong Industrial Park on 19 March 2026 in Lao Cai Province, northern Vietnam. | Source: Getty Images

The 19-year-old was then thrown onto the road and struck by a lorry, with the cause of the collision remaining under investigation, according to Viet Nam News. Her parents, Andrew and Henrietta Wates, described their daughter as a young woman who truly lived, adding:

“Orla was beautiful, independent, and very funny, with a sharp wit. She loved to look good and lived life to the full.”

Orla Wates’s parents shared an emotional message from hospital in a post dated 8 April 2026 | Source: Facebook/Hoàng Cường

Wates’s father is a director at the £2.4 billion construction firm Wates Group, which he joined in 1995 and whose board he has sat on since 2011.

Beyond his role at the company, he chairs the Wates Foundation, an independent grant-making trust that has supported the charitable and voluntary sector for nearly five decades.

A group of people riding motorcycles down a city street in Hồ Chí Minh, Vietnam. | Source: Pexels

The director also leads the Construction Youth Trust, an organisation founded in 1961 to help young people facing significant barriers to education and employment. He serves on the governing body of The Clothworkers’ Company, too, and, in 2024, became a trustee of the Unicorn Theatre.

A representative from Viet Duc Friendship Hospital acknowledged the family’s generosity publicly.

Motorcyclists navigate a city road in Vietnam, with one rider transporting stacked goods on the back of a bike | Source: Pexels

However, the construction firm director placed work on hold so that he and his wife were by their daughter’s side when she passed.

In the days that followed, after personally thanking the hospital’s Dr Trịnh Van Dong and the ICU team for their care, the couple made an extraordinary decision — to donate their daughter’s organs.

A motorcyclist travels along a roadside lined with small businesses and tangled overhead wires in Vietnam | Source: Pexels

Wates’s liver, kidneys, and corneas were transplanted to three critically ill Vietnamese patients. Her mother explained what had driven the choice:

“At this extremely difficult time for our family, we chose to donate Orla’s organs, as we believe that if there were a way to give opportunity to others, this is what Orla would have wanted. Knowing that she is living on through them brings us great comfort.”

A woman rides a motorbike through a busy Vietnamese street lined with market stalls and flowers | Source: Pexels

Wates’s father, speaking in an emotional interview at the hospital, shared his own reasoning, stating, “Vietnam was a country she loved and so to give back to Vietnam as well I think is very important for us.”

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Her mother added, “She had the best time here, she was loving every minute of it. So it is our way of thanking you.”

Orla Wates’s parents spoke about their daughter’s love for Vietnam in a heartfelt hospital video | Source: Facebook/Hoàng Cường

A representative from Viet Duc Friendship Hospital acknowledged the family’s generosity publicly. “In the face of profound grief, her family made a deeply compassionate decision that transcended nationality and race — to donate her organs, giving others a chance at life,” they said.

“The act has moved many, as her gift now offers hope to patients suffering from organ failure in Vietnam. One journey has come to an end, but her life continues quietly and resiliently in others who have been given a second chance,” they continued.

Two riders pass market stalls and street signs in a busy Vietnamese neighbourhood filled with local shops and produce | Source: Pexels

In a video shared online, Wates’s parents can be seen kissing the 19-year-old goodbye, weeping as they held her one last time.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed that its consular staff are supporting the family, as an FCDO spokesperson shared, “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Orla Wates, following her tragic death in Vietnam.”

A motorbike carrying multiple passengers travels along a wide urban road in Vietnam, highlighting everyday transport on busy city streets | Source: Pexels

The spokesperson added, “We are in touch with the local authorities, and our consular staff are doing all they can to support Orla’s family at this hugely difficult time.”

Online, the news prompted an outpouring of condolences. One reader wrote, “Beautiful girl, so very sad.” Another added, “Oh how sad. So sad. So sorry. Her poor parents. Their hearts must be broken beyond belief. It’s too tragic.”

A third shared, “Awful news for any parent! So sorry for all of them,” while a fourth commented, “That is no life and the pain of losing a child unimaginable [sic]. RIP.”

In a video shared online, Wates’s parents can be seen kissing the 19-year-old goodbye, weeping as they held her one last time. Through their tears, they spoke of a daughter who had loved every moment of her time in Vietnam.