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 killed when she was hurled through the air before being run over by a lorry while travelling around southeast Asia.

The horror bears chilling similarities to the death of her cousin William Wates who was also aged 19 when he was killed while travelling in Honduras – just weeks before he was due to take up a place at university.

The adventurous teenagers were beloved members of the construction family dynasty estimated to be worth £597million.

William was shot dead after he was ambushed by bandits in a remote mountainous region close to the Nicaraguan border in August 1996.

His body was found by peasants on a roadside. William suffered five gunshot wounds to the heart, head and back and he had been bound by his hands and legs.

The pockets of his shorts had been turned inside out, while travellers’ cheques, credit cards and cash were missing.

It’s believed William was robbed and killed by two Latin Americans who had been staying in the next room to him at a hotel in the border town of Danli, 40 miles away. He had been seen leaving with them the previous night.

Orla Wates (pictured), 19, died after a motorcycle accident in Vietnam during her gap year

Orla’s death bears chilling similarities to the death of her cousin William Wates (pictured), who was also aged 19 when he was killed while travelling in Honduras in 1996

William had been travelling in South and Central America for four months after spending two months with a voluntary organisation, planting trees in Ecuador and helping out in local communities.

The youngest of five brothers, William was a pupil at Radley College and took a year off school before he was due to study ancient history at Nottingham University.

At the time of the tragedy, his father, Andrew, was chairman of Wates Leisure and director of Wates Building Group, the family construction firm.

Andrew Wates, 85, retired from the firm in 2010. He was a prominent figure in the racing community and his horse Rough Quest won the Grand National just weeks before the death of his son.

After learning of his son’s death, Andrew bravely hid the tragedy from hundreds of the family firm’s employees as he hosted a long-planned garden party at his country estate near Dorking, Surrey. He later flew to Honduras to bring his son’s body back.

In the aftermath of the tragedy the family founded the William Wates Memorial Trust – a charity set up in his memory which has raised millions of pounds to support projects that help disadvantaged children and young people escape the cycle of crime.

It organises an annual cycling event called Le Loop which offers amateur riders the chance to tackle the 21 stages of the Tour de France and is staged a week ahead of the iconic event.

It seems Orla shared the same spirit of adventure as William, and she died after travelling to Southeast Asia on a gap year before she was going to start a degree at Durham University.

The ‘beautiful, independent and very funny’ teenager was on a motorbike trip on the Ha Giang Loop, a multi-day tour on winding roads through the mountains of northern Vietnam, when her bike crashed.

She was riding pillion when the driver lost control on a stretch of the 250-mile mountain route.

Orla is said to have been thrown onto the road before being struck by a lorry.

Her parents Andrew, 56, and Henrietta Wates, 53, allowed their daughter’s organs to be donated for transplant, saving the lives of three critically-ill Vietnamese patients.

Her mother said: ‘Orla was beautiful, independent and very funny, with a sharp wit. She loved to look good and lived life to the full.

‘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.’

Her father Andrew Wates (standing, with wife Henrietta to his left), spoke at Hanoi’s Việt Đức Friendship Hospital where he thanked medics for their support

Orla’s liver, kidneys and corneas were transplanted to patients at the hospital.

Her father, Andrew, is a director of the Wates construction company. He is the son of Paul Wates, whose brother, who is also called Andrew, was William’s father.

Four generations of the family – whose motto is ‘from unity comes strength’ have run the business since it was founded in 1897 by Edward Wates.

Since then it has gone from strength to strength, reporting a record turnover of £2.4billion for the 2024 financial year.