Liam Hampson’s cause of death reportedly revealed by Spanish police
More details are beginning to emerge about the tragic death of rising rugby league player Liam Hampson in Barcelona.
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More details are beginning to emerge about the tragic death of rising rugby league player Liam Hampson in Barcelona, Spain.
A desperate search was launched by the 24-year-old’s worried friends late on Wednesday night (AEDT) along with the revelation they had not seen from him for more than 30 hours.
The group of friends, which included NRL stars AJ Brimson, Jordan Riki and Jesse Arthurs, had attended the Sala Apolo nightclub on Tuesday night together before they lost contact with Hampson at around 5.30am in the morning.
The search was eventually called off after the athlete’s lifeless body was discovered by employees on one of the floors of the nightclub.
Barcelona Police were called to the historic establishment, described as one of the oldest dance halls in Europe, before appropriate checks were made and the body was identified as Hampson’s.
Spanish media, including publication El Mundo, is reporting police believe the Redcliffe Dolphins hooker died after accidentally falling from a height of 10 metres at the Sala Apolo nightclub.
Police confirmed to 7NEWS a body believed to be Hampson had been found in the nightclub and the death was being treated as an accident.
“This morning, nightclub staff where Liam was seen for the last time, found a body on the floor in an area of the nightclub, Sala Apolo,” police said.
Both the Australian consulate and Hampson’s family were contacted by Spanish authorities.
Soon after his sister Tiarna shared a heartbreaking Instagram post confirming she had woken up to the “saddest news possible” on Thursday morning (AEDT).
“We are devastated to find out Liam had an accident and did not survive,” Tiarna wrote.
“We are so heartbroken. Liam was the best brother I ever could of 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 made sure his last days were the best of his life. Going to miss you so much, Liam.”
Hampson’s father Brett said the whole family was “devastated” and “heartbroken” by the news.
“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,” Brett wrote.
“We are heartbroken to say the least. Liam had a heart of gold and was a much loved son, brother, grandson, uncle and friend. Words cannot express our grief.
“We cannot thank his mates enough for being there with Liam having the time of his life and assisting in the search for our boy. Our thought are with them.
“We are asking the media to respect our privacy as we work through this time.”
Riki shared a link to a GoFundMe page and said any donations would help Hampson’s family bring his body home to Australia.
“On behalf of Liam’s family and friends we would like to support his beautiful family in helping getting Liam home. Also supporting his family through this difficult time,” Riki said.
“As we all know Liam was a beautiful soul who brought people together with his love, wisdom and jokes.
“Liam was an outstanding talent on and off the football field if it was helping his teammates win a nail biting game or educating kids and many others on life and his wisdom. We love Liam and any donation would go a long way.”
Hampson had been enjoying an off-season holiday around Europe with a group of Australian friends including NRL stars including Brimson, Riki and Arthurs.
In one of his final Instgram posts, Hampson posted a photo of the group together with a caption: “My life is fantastic”.
Images from their Instagram accounts show the group holidaying through Munich, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Positano and Paris before they travelled to Barcelona.
The group had presumably been coming to the end of their European trip, given pre-season training for NRL clubs who missed the top eight this year is due to begin in just a couple of weeks.
Hampson attended Keebra Park State High School on the Gold Coast with Brimson before the pair played their junior rugby league together at the Tweed Seagulls.
While Brimson moved on to the Titans, Hampson moved to the Redcliffe Dolphins in Queensland’s domestic rugby league competition where he played as a hooker.
He had played in 37 games for Redcliffe, scoring nine tries.
However Hampson was not a member of the club’s top tier list for their inaugural season in the NRL in 2023.
He had only recently played in Redcliffe’s Queensland Cup grand final to Norths.
A Dolphins spokesperson revealed Hampson had been impressing many at the club including incoming NRL head coach Wayne Bennett.
“It’s just terrible what’s happened. We can’t believe it,” the spokesman told News Corp.
“Liam was full of life and really popular with the guys here at Redcliffe.
“He was a good player, he won us a game against Burleigh in the finals to get us into the grand final, he scored a try and changed the tempo of the game.
“After that game Liam had a conversation with Wayne Bennett (Dolphins NRL coach), who was impressed with his attitude.
“He was only small for a hooker but he really played above his weight and had great courage.
“Our thoughts go out to Liam’s family and friends.”
Originally published as Liam Hampson’s cause of death reportedly revealed by Spanish police
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