British boy, 14, dies on adventure holiday with Scouts

The 14-year-old lost consciousness as he jumped into water during a gorge scrambling activity in the Gran Paradiso National Park in the north of the country.

The boy, named by Italian police as Elliot Peacock, was immediately rescued from the water and given CPR but could not be resuscitated.

The teenager, from Newton Mearns in East Renfrewshire, was with a group of around 40 scouts who were on the second full day of their nine-day adventure activity trip when the incident happened at about 4.20pm on Sunday.

Acorn Adventure, which ran the trip, said: “They were jumping into the water, where instructors were waiting for them. All participants were wearing buoyancy aids, wet suits and helmets as is standard on this activity, carried out by hundreds of participants every year for the past 18 years.

“As yet it is unclear why this participant lost consciousness as he entered the water. Despite very swiftly being given CPR by trained first aiders and nurses who attended the scene, very sadly paramedics were unable to resuscitate him.”

The outdoor education provider added: “The thoughts and condolences of all at Acorn Adventure are with his family and friends; the team’s efforts are fully focused on ensuring they are supported in any way possible.”

The boy was a member of the Pegasus Explorer Scout Unit which is linked to the 35th Glasgow Scout Group.

Andrew Gardiner, founder and managing director of Acorn Adventure said: “We are all profoundly saddened by this tragic incident and our thoughts are with the family and friends of the boy. Our priority is to ensure we do all we can to help them by working with the various organisations involved to understand how this happened.

“The rest of the group are supporting each other and showing great maturity. They are a great credit to their Scout group and their parents.”