‘British father-and-son’ accused of manslaughter in Tenerife over death of Brit tourist during tapas bar fight
The 53-year-old British man died after hitting his head on the pavement in a fight outside a bar on the Spanish island
A FATHER and son are due to appear in court later today to face questioning from a judge about the death of a British tourist during a fight outside a Tenerife bar.
The unnamed pair, also said to be Brits, were held by cops in the early hours of yesterday morning after the 53-year-old holidaymaker smashed his head on the pavement following a violent altercation between the three men.
A secrecy order was placed over the case by the investigating judge tasked with deciding whether to remand them in custody or release them.
The order - standard practice in Spain in the early stages of a criminal probe - prevented public officials from making any comment.
The dead man was not named and only his initials - A.D - released.
Sources close to the case ruled out initial speculation he may have been the victim of a botched robbery and said all the evidence was pointing towards his death being the result of a drunken row that got out of hand.
The father and son being held are said to be aged around 50 and 20.
The fight started at a tapas bar in the Torviscas area of popular Adeje Costa called La Cabaña and continued into the street outside where the tragic death happened.
Paramedics pronounced the Brit dead at the scene after making unsuccessful attempts to revive him.
Staff at La Cabaña where the three men had been drinking declined to comment.
The cafe-bar pulls in a mostly British holiday crowd by advertising English breakfasts at £2.75 and jugs of sangria at £4.70 on chalkboards outside.
Detectives are understood to have seized CCTV footage showing the Brit’s death and the sequence of events leading up to it.
Several witnesses to the violent brawl have given police statements.
Staff at the three-star Aparthotel Neptuno, the nearby apartment hotel where the dead man was staying which is described on travel websites as an “ideal venue for couples looking for a nice place to relax”, also declined to comment.
It is not known if he was on holiday alone or with family or friends and whether he was accompanied at the time he was killed.
The incident resulting in his death happened around 1.45am on Thursday.
A spokesman for a local emergency response service said they had mobilised police and paramedics after receiving reports that two men were assaulting another man.
He said: “The information we received is that the man was a 53-year-old Brit.
“The calls indicated that two people were hitting another man. We alerted police and the ambulance service.
“When paramedics arrived they tried to revive him as he suffered a cardiac arrest but those efforts proved unsuccessful.
“Police have taken charge of the investigation.”
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police said the secrecy order placed on the case meant he was unable to give out any information.
The area where the incident occurred in Adeje Costa is hugely popular with Brit expats and holidaymakers.
Playa de las Americas - which is a famous holiday resort in the south of Tenerife - is part of Adele Costa.
Court hearings during the investigative stage of a Spanish criminal probe are always held behind-closed-doors.
The hearings are only opened up to the press and public when cases go to trial.
Suspects can be held up to four years in jail without charge in Spain while investigating magistrates probe the evidence against them although the normal maximum period is two years.
A manslaughter conviction in Spain carries a prison sentence of up to four years.
