British building tycoon’s teenage daughter, 19, is killed in Vietnam gap year motorbike tragedy
A construction tycoon’s teenage daughter has died after a motorbike crash in Vietnam.
Orla Wates, 19, whose father is a director of £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 from London 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.
Orla’s 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 daughter’s happy memories there.
Mr Wates said: ‘Vietnam was a country she loved, so to give back is very important to us.’
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 Britain’s leading family-owned development companies.
His wife said: ‘Orla was beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit. She loved to look good and lived life to the full.’
Mrs Wates said she took comfort in knowing her daughter ‘lives on’ 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 is a director of £2.4billion building firm Wates
‘She had the best time here [in Vietnam]. She was loving every minute of it, so it’s our way of thanking you.
‘At this extremely difficult time, we chose to donate Orla’s organs as we believe that if there were a way to give opportunity to others, this is what she would have wanted, ’ Mrs Wates added.
‘Knowing that she is living on through them brings us great comfort.’
In recognition of their selfless act, Vietnam’s minister of health wrote Orla’s parents a letter expressing the country’s gratitude.
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Motorcyclists are seen riding along the Ha Giang Loop in Vietnam (file picture)
A representative from Hanoi’s Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, where Orla died, said: ‘In 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.’
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.
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