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Tributes have flowed for an Irish tourist who was killed when a 4×4 overturned in Bolivia with a pal saying he was ‘one of the loveliest people you would ever have met.’
Oisin Hoy, 29, from Clontarf in Dublin, was among a group of seven in a Toyota Land Cruiser when the accident occurred on Bolivia’s famous salt flats on Friday afternoon. Officials said the group was on their way to a local volcano when the vehicle flipped over and travelled for a further 40 metres before coming to a halt on its side.
Mr Hoy was gravely injured and was being brought to the nearby city of Potosi when he died en route. Five others, including two Bolivians, two Germans and a Dutchman were also injured.
Three required hospital treatment in Potosi due to the severity of their injuries. Mr Hoy, who had a love for travelling and adventures, was also described by a pal as a ‘very popular man.’
“He was one of the loveliest persons you’d ever meet,” local councillor Kevin Breen, who was a good friend of Oisin’s since their childhood, said. “He was so full of life and loved adventures and travel. He was also a great GAA man and ran a good few marathons. It’s just so tragic and extremely heartbreaking,” he said.
Local Bolivian police chief Colonel Wilson Flores said authorities believe the incident occurred due to excessive speed. He said one of the other tourists had requested to drive the vehicle in order to record a video for social media when it occurred.
Flores said: “Unfortunately due to excessive speed, it lost control and the vehicle turned over, causing one death and five injuries. The deceased passed away en route to Potosi due to the abdominal injury he suffered.”
Local tourism boss Raul Torres said the accident occurred amid increasing concerns about safety levels among tour operators in Bolivia. He said many firms were not attending road safety training and an instruction session scheduled for last Friday had been cancelled because of the failure of company drivers to show up.
Clontarf GAA Club also paid tribute to Mr Hoy, who was a long-standing member of the club. “It was with a sense of deep shock that we learned of the tragic and all too early death of Oisin Hoy, son of Kevin and Mary,” Clontarf GAA Club said in a statement on social media.
“The Hoys are a real club family: Kevin is currently vice-chair and Mary is an active committee member in the club and Oisin’s brother and sisters, Peter, Niamh and Caoimhe have all played for Clontarf. Oisin was a long standing member of the club having played all the way through the juvenile ranks in hurling and football and into the world of adult football.
“He is remembered by all who played with him or coached him as a hugely positive person. He always presented with a smile and made a significant contribution to any team he played with.
“His trademark smile is pictured here with Mary and Kevin after completing the Barcelona marathon on his birthday on 16th March, still representing the club after all these years,” the statement continued. “Oisin, however, was more than a footballer. He was an inveterate traveller with a deep interest in other countries, cultures and, above all, in people.
“This interest in travelling took him to all arts and parts of the world in recent years, most recently to South America. It was there, in Bolivia, that the fatal car crash occurred. There is little that we can say to Kevin, Mary and the rest of the Hoy family at this tragic time other than to note that we will always remember Oisin as one who brought joy, warmth and happiness to any conversation.”
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