Liam Hampson fell to his death at Barcelona nightclub while searching for bathroom
New details have emerged tracing rising league player Liam Hampson’s tragic final moments inside a Spanish nightclub.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Exclusive: Rising league star Liam Hampson fell to his death after being locked out of a Barcelona nightclub while going in search of a bathroom.
The Redcliffe Dolphins player was clubbing at the Sala Apolo nightclub in Barcelona on Tuesday with a group of teammates when he was accidentally locked out when a fire door closed behind him.
Investigators confirmed Hampson had gone in search of a toilet around 4.30am on Tuesday and when he found himself unable to get back into the club, tried to scale a wall to an adjoining building but fell 10m to his death.
His ringing mobile phone alerted a cleaner to his lifeless body 30 hours after his friends reported him missing.
“It kept ringing, ringing, and ringing, it was faint, I didn’t hear at first, but then I saw his body in a cordoned off patio area, I was absolutely shocked,” said a worker at the Sala Apolo nightclub, who refused to be named.
“Poor kid, he would have been there for more than a day, my heart goes out to his family.
“He came out in the courtyard to pee and got locked out and couldn’t get back in.
“We think he climbed over a wall to get back in but fell to his death. All the staff are sad at the club, our hearts are heavy for him.”
Police originally struggled to match documents found by nightclub staff on the body at the club with the description given by the 24-year-old’s worried friends, including Titans’ fullback Alexander ‘AJ’ Brimson and Broncos stars Jordan Riki and Jesse Arthars.
During their long wait for news, Hampson’s mates had also pasted urgent appeals for his whereabouts on Instagram, saying it was “out of character” for him not to keep in touch.
The owner of the club eventually contacted the police.
“We found the body of one person, a football player, inside the place, in the back yard,” a spokesman for the regional Mossos d‘Esquadra police told News Corp Australia.
“He disappeared on Tuesday and the documents on him showed it was a 24 year old man who had been reported missing and who fell from a height of 10 meters.
“Arrangements to take his body back to Australia are being made through the Australian consulate.”
It is unclear if Hampson’s parents, who face the grim task of identifying their son’s body, have arrived in Barcelona. His sister Tiarna has posted a message to everyone on Instagram.
A post mortem was being conducted on Thursday but the results will not be made public.
“It appears a very tragic accident at this stage, we have spoken to his family and family and friends through official channels and they are understandably very upset,” the police spokesman said.
Emilia Garcia, 53, a neighbour of the nightclub, one of the oldest in Europe, saw police and ambulance crews combing the nightclub on Wednesday
“There was a huge concert the night before and the road was blocked off while police, firemen and ambulance crews took over the nightclub – I found out on social media what happened, we feel so sorry for the boy’s family, this comes as a shock to us in the neighbourhood.”
An official message from the Sala Apolo club on Twitter described the accident as “sad and very painful … for all for all the people who are affected”.
“The management and the entire Apolo team are beyond appalled by what happened and we express our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Liam Hampson,” the post said.
“We have placed ourselves at the disposal of the Mossos d’Esquadra police.”
Hampson, who recently helped steer his side to the Queensland Cup grand final, where they were beaten 16-10 by the Norths Devils, had been enjoying an off season 12-country tour around Europe with his league mates.
A week ago he boasted while on the Amalfi Coast, “my life is fantastic”.
The hooker’s social media is littered with pictures of the boys drinking beer in Munich at Oktoberfest, enjoying football in Paris, and stop offs in Amsterdam and Switzerland before soaking up the nightlife in Spain.
“This is the saddest news possible,” his heartbroken sister Tiarna said on social media.
“We are devastated to find out Liam had an accident and did not survive.
“We are so heartbroken. Liam was the best brother I ever could have asked for and made me a better person.
“We cannot express our grief.
“We cannot thank the boys he was travelling with enough for assisting with his search and making sure his last days were the best of his life. Going to miss you so much, Liam.”
His father Brett said the whole family was grief stricken, writing, “Waking up to the news no one wants to hear, we are devastated to find out that Liam had an accident and sadly has not survived.”
A GoFundMe campaign, which aims to help Hampson family’s bring his body home, raised more than $72,000.
More Coverage
Originally published as Liam Hampson fell to his death at Barcelona nightclub while searching for bathroom
NRL Market Watch: Titans boot former Bronco to Super League
Brisbane grand final forward Keenan Palasia has been shown the door at the Gold Coast Titans as Des Hasler cleans out his squad and rebuilds for 2025.
Read more
Cleary’s cheeky jab at Eels greats as fans flock to cheer Panthers
A huge crowd of Penrith fans have flocked to Panthers HQ to celebrate their team’s historic fourth straight premiership as Nathan Cleary responds to claims that his side could not match it with the Eels outfit of the 1980s.
Read more