A British tourist has died after falling from the second floor of an Indian temple. The deceased, identified as Roger Stotesbury, is a resident of Buckingham, and he was on a year-long world tour with his wife Hilary when this tragedy happened. The incident happened at a Laxmi temple in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh.
Death while attempting to take a selfie
Local residents in and around the temple said that Stotesbury was trying to take a selfie on the edge of the second-floor terrace while the slip happened. Stotesbury fell from a height of 30 feet and was soon rushed to the Ramaraja hospital. He died during treatment in the hospital.
However, the news of his death while taking selfie was disputed by his family, as they claimed that Stotesbury has finished taking some scenic photos, and had put his iPad down on a ledge before the slip happened.
"They were the most happily married couple I have ever known. They were just so devoted to each other. Roger took lots and lots of photographs, and he had gone to take some views from the temple. He put his iPad down and suddenly fell down," said a family spokesman, reports BBC.
A Foreign Office spokesman stated that they are working with the deceased family to provide assistance following the tragic death, and added that their thoughts are with the family at this sad time.
BBC reports that the couple was about to return to their native land by the end of November, and the Orchaa temple was one among their last tourist destinations.
Stotesbury: An amazing human being
Stotesbury, a documentary filmmaker, has managed a blog named 'ourmiddleagedgapyear' which described his world trip with wife Hilary. On the blog, he has written that his motto was to 'die young as late as possible'.
"We are Hilary and Roger, a married couple from England / Scotland who are in their mid-fifties. Hilary's motto is "just do it" whilst Roger's is "to die young as late as possible". We took the view that on your deathbed you never wish you'd spent more time in the office," wrote Stotesbury in the blog.
"We've seen our two kids off into the wider world and we have no more caring responsibilities for our parents. So we thought now is the time to take a gap year and travel whilst we still have the health and energy. After all, you only live once," added the blog post.
In the journey which he failed to complete, he traveled various countries including Argentina, Australia, Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil, Malaysia, South Korea and the USA. He visited Singapore too and posted photos of Stainless steel mirror balls, and The Paparazzi Dogs statute on his blog.
