Two British teens dead and one critical after parasailing accident in Greece

Three cousins from Northamptonshire in the United Kingdom suffered a serious parasailing accident in Rhodes, Greece. Michael Connelly and Jessica Hayes were fatally wounded when their parachute crashed from a height of around 400 feet onto the rocky shore. Michael's brother, James Connelly, miraculously survived but remains in a critical condition since the incident on Wednesday, October 28. The boat operator, Nikos Mallios, had been arrested but was released on bail as the charges against him are being decided.

When the three cousins holidaying on the Greek island failed to return hours after they went parasailing, their families got worried. The parents of the teenagers questioned the coastguard about their missing children only to discover that they had been involved in a serious accident.

It was later discovered that 13-year-old Michael and 15-year-old Jessica died. 15-year-old James survived but suffered multiple injuries including broken legs and injuries to his spine and head.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Jessica's father, Tony Hayes, described the ordeal the family faced before finding out the fate of the children. Neither the hotel nor the boat operator contacted the family. They found out about the accident hours after it occurred. On top of that, the family kept getting conflicting reports from various sources.

After reaching the hospital where James had been admitted, the family was still unaware that the two cousins had died. Tony claims that the nurse who broke the news to them was not empathetic of the family's loss.

Even though Mallios, the boat operator, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and causing serious bodily injury, he was released on bail. As per the law, anyone under the age of 14 is not allowed to parasail. The boat operator broke the law by allowing the 13-year-old to parasail. Another law that the boat operator broke specifies that no more than two passengers can be allowed to parasail at the time.

Apart from ignoring government rules, Mallios further put the teens at risk by continuing the trip through bad weather. The high winds forced the rope attaching the teens to the boat to snap. The teens were then pushed towards the shore where they fell onto the rocks from a substantial height.

The incident involving British tourists is being investigated by the Greek authorities.