Canadian dies falling from triple-decker bunk bed on backpacking trip

A 22-year-old man from Vancouver Island is dead after a tragic accident at his hostel in Guatemala.

Nash Hellwig was staying at in Antigua, Guatemala when he fell from the top bunk the night of June 5. The hostel he was staying at had triple-decker bunks, and his brother, Dylan Hellwig, estimates the fall was about 4.5 metres.

Nash Hellwig fell from the top bunk of his Guatemala hostel. (Hostelworld)

“You never expect to get that call, to hear that person you’ve grown up with all your life … isn’t going to be there next time you go back,” Dylan, who’s 18 months older than Nash, told Daily Hive.

Two of Nash’ quick-thinking German roommates used his fingerprint to unlock his phone while he was receiving first aid, alerting his family right away that he was in trouble.

Nash was rushed to hospital, according to a GoFundMe organized by a family friend, but that hospital didn’t have the proper imaging equipment necessary to assess his trauma. He had to be transported to a private hospital, where a scan revealed massive internal bleeding from his liver.

Then, Nash had to be taken back to the first hospital for surgery since the private one didn’t have an ICU. Sadly, Nash went into cardiac arrest following the blood loss and died.

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His family says they’re grateful to the hostel owners and Nash’s fellow travellers, who stayed with him in the hospital until the end. His family landed in Guatemala shortly after, expecting to keep him company while he recovered but now making plans to bring his body home.

Nash Hellwig/Facebook

Nash had planned to spend a couple weeks in Guatemala, and had zealously planned his first solo backpacking trip “down to the hour,” his brother said.

“He was just ecstatic to on that first adventure by himself,” Dylan said. “I told him, I said when you get the opportunity, take the opportunity to travel. And he seized it. But of course, it didn’t end the way anybody hoped it would.”

He remembers his brother as the type of person who would help another before helping himself, someone who would add light to any room and who loved listening to country music.

Nash was also a young father. He leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother in Campbell River.

“He really, really loved his daughter,” Dylan said. “And he really showed how much he wanted to be there and support her through her future.”

Friends of the family have organized a GoFundMe to help with Nash’s loved ones expenses on their trip to Guatemala to bring his body back, as well as to provide for his toddler now that he’s gone.

Hellwig worked as a ramp agent for Air Canada Jazz at the Victoria airport and was also passionate about photography. He had a dream of becoming a deck-hand on a superyacht, his brother said.

“I’m glad that he’s not suffering. I’m glad he passed doing something he dreamed of doing, hopefully with a smile on his face when he went to bed that night.”

Daily Hive has reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment but has not yet heard back.