British building tycoon’s teenage daughter, 19, is killed in Vietnam gap year motorbike tragedy
A construction tycoonβs teenage daughter has died after a motorbike crash in Vietnam.
Orla Wates, 19, whose father is a director of Β£2.4billion building firm Wates, was on a gap-year trip when the accident happened.
She was riding along the Ha Giang Loop – a 250-mile mountain route popular with young travellers – when she was reportedly thrown from the bike and hit by a truck.
The cause of the crash is under investigation but it is understood she was a passenger on a bike when the driver lost control.
She was declared brain dead at a hospital in Hanoi and her parents Andy Wates, 56, and Henrietta, 53, flew fromΒ LondonΒ to say goodbye before she died last Thursday.
A former pupil of the prestigious Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, Orla had been due to study anthropology at Durham University.
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Orla Wates, 19, has died after a motorcycle accident in Vietnam during her gap year
She took a year out to travel around south-east Asia and volunteer in Africa, according to her profile on professional networking site LinkedIn.
Orlaβs father, the great-grandson of Wates founder Edward, told the website Vietnam News that they had decided to donate her organs as a way of thanking Vietnam for their daughterβs happy memories there.
Mr Wates said: βVietnam was a country she loved, so to give back is very important to us.β
He is a director of the Wates building firm, which was established in 1897, and chairman of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust. Wates is one of Britainβs leading family-owned development companies.
His wife said: βOrla was beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit. She loved to look good and lived life to the full.β
Mrs Wates said she took comfort in knowing her daughter βlives onβ after her organs were used to help five other people through liver, kidney and cornea transplants.
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Orla’s father Andrew Wates isΒ a director of Β£2.4billion building firm Wates
βSheΒ had the best time here [in Vietnam]. She was loving every minute of it, so itβs our way of thanking you.
‘At this extremely difficult time, we chose to donate Orlaβs organs as we believe that if there were a way to give opportunity to others, this is what she would have wanted, β Mrs Wates added.
‘Knowing that she is living on through them brings us great comfort.’
In recognition of their selfless act, Vietnamβs minister of health wrote Orlaβs parents a letter expressing the countryβs gratitude.
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Motorcyclists are seen riding along the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam (file picture)
A representative from Hanoiβs Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, where Orla died, said:Β βIn the face of profound grief, her family made a deeply compassionate decision. The act has moved many.
‘One journey has come to an end, but her life continues quietly and resiliently in others who have been given a second chance.β
The Ha Giang Loop in northern Vietnam is popular with British backpackers but concerns have been raised about its safety.
Tours usually take between three and four days, with bike riders passing through the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark. It features steep mountains, deep valleys and dramatic passes including Ma Pi Leng.
News
Orla Wates, a vibrant 19-year-old from London, tragically died in a motorbike crash on the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam on April 2, 2026. Described as independent, witty, and full of life, Orlaβs passing devastated her family, who then made the agonizing choice to donate her organs, saving the lives of several people. But hereβs where it gets eerieβthis horrific accident is eerily similar to a tragedy that struck the Wates family 30 years ago, a shadow that has loomed over them for decades. Could this just be a coincidence, or is there something far more sinister at play?
Tycoon’s daughter Orla Wates died in gap year tragedy 30 years after her cousin was killed on HIS gap year The death of a building tycoon’s daughter in a motorbike crash in Vietnam is the second gap year tragedy to rock one of Britain’s wealthiest families, the Daily Mail can reveal. Orla Wates, 19, was […]
π¨ βMom… I just want to come home…β In a hospital room in Vietnam, a young British girlβs life was slipping away. She leaned in close to her mother and whispered, βMomβ¦ I donβt want to dieβ¦β There were no final goodbyes, just a quiet plea and a child fighting to hold on. Her parents were faced with an impossible choiceβone that would honor her life in the most profound way. Her heart didnβt end that day. It was given a second chance, inside someone else. π Because sometimes, love means letting go, so others can live. π
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