Siblings begged for 'one last swim' before drowning in Spain holiday horror

Daily Record

2 days ago

The brother and sister drowned after getting into difficulty in the sea at during their 'first big holiday abroad.'
Two young siblings who drowned during a family holiday in Spain had pleaded for "one last swim", a devastated family member has revealed.
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Ameiya and Ricardo Del Brocco - affectionately known as Maya and Jubs - died after getting into difficulty in the sea at Salou last week. It was their "first big holiday abroad" with their parents and four siblings, staying at the four-star Hotel Best Negresco near Llarga Beach, reports the Mirror.
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But the trip ended in heartbreak when the pair reportedly asked parents Shanice and Ricardo Snr, both 31, if they could go for one final dip in the ocean - but tragedy struck.
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Shanice had taken one of the other children to the toilet, while Ricardo Snr stayed on the beach watching the children. But moments later, disaster unfolded.
The heartbroken dad dived into the water to try and save them. Emergency crews rushed to the scene but were tragically unable to save the siblings, aged just 11 and 13.
Shanice's sister Macalia Del Brocco, 46, said: "She (Shanice) came back out (from the toilet), she couldn't see any of them. At that point, she panicked. And it was at that point the police arrived and things started happening. Then it hit what was happening. It was obviously the children that were in the water."
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Ricardo Snr also had to be pulled from the sea after swallowing "a lot of water" and was left exhausted. Medics managed to resuscitate him on the beach.
Macalia described 11-year-old Ricardo as 'the softest, sweetest, gentlest boy you could wish to meet' who 'dreamed of being a YouTuber'. Big sister Ameiya, 13, was 'a unique character' who loved fashion and athletics, and acted like a 'second mum' to her younger brothers and sisters.
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She praised hotel staff for their kindness, saying they had been 'absolutely beautiful' in supporting the grief-stricken family from Birmingham.
One sibling, six-year-old Casius, had an emotional conversation with Macalia, telling his aunt "Juby went to heaven in a helicopter". Talking to the Mail Online, Macalia continued: "He told me 'Did you know Maya and Jubs are in heaven now? Juby went to heaven in a helicopter'.
"So that's his understanding of it, which is bittersweet, because that was what he saw. And it's beautiful that he thinks that's what happened, but very sadly tragic at the same time."
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The family have now raised more than £18,000 through a GoFundMe page to help bring the children's bodies home and support the parents through the unimaginable loss. Relatives, including the siblings' gran, flew out to Spain on Wednesday.
Macalia continued: "Ricardo is feeling, obviously, very pained because he was in the water with them, so that's going to be hitting him hard.
"That's not going to disappear from his mind. It's going to be a lot of trauma mentally for him to deal with. But families pull together, and there will be support all the way around."
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Paying tribute to the siblings, Macalia described their inseparable bond and adoration for another. She said: "They would fight like cat and dog at times, but they adored each other.
"Maya was about to go into year nine. Very, very bright girl, even when we think she's not doing her homework, she obviously is, because her report we got at the end of summer was amazing.
"She is very, very athletic. Very determined individual. When she wanted something she was adamant she was going to get it. She was very as a character, she was very sarcastic and humorous."