Ameiya Del Brocco and younger brother Ricardo, from Birmingham, drowned after getting into difficulty at Llarga Beach near the four-star Hotel Best Necresgo in Salou, which is in Spain
Two siblings who drowned on holiday in Spain had begged their parents for “one last swim,” a heartbroken family member said.
Ameiya and Ricardo Del Brocco – known affectionately as Maya and Jubs – died after getting into difficulty in the water at Salou last week. They and their four siblings family were enjoying their “first big holiday abroad,” having stayed at the four-star Hotel Best Necresgo near Llarga Beach.
But it was at this beach, towards the end of the break, where Maya and Jubs drowned, having reportedly asked their parents Shanice and Ricardo Snr, both 31, for one final dip in the ocean. Ricardo Snr watched over the siblings while Shanice took one of the other children to the toilet – but tragedy struck.
Ricardo Snr had dived in the choppy water and rescue crews assisted with the operation, but Ameiya nor Ricardo Jnr could not be saved. 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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Macalia, whose friend has created a GoFundMe page to help support the family, described Ricardo, 11, as the “softest, sweetest, gentlest boy you could wish to meet”, adding he “loved the idea of being a YouTuber when he was older”. She said 13-year-old Ameiya, who was into athletics and fashion, was a “unique character” and acted as a “second mother” to her younger siblings.
Ricardo Snr had swallowed “a lot of water and was exhausted” but medics were miraculously able to resuscitate him on the beach. Macalia stressed hotel staff have been “absolutely beautiful” in helping support Ricardo Snr, Shanice and their children, who are 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.”
More than £18,000 has been raised to help bring Ameiya and Ricardo’ bodies back to the UK, and support the family here. Some relatives, including the siblings’ grandmother, flew 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.”
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.”
To donate to the GoFundMe page, visit this link.