A devoted dad has died after falling and hitting his head while climbing a gate in a tragic accident.
Chris Carney from Teesside, north east England, was forging a new life for himself in Holland at the time.
His sister told how he was visiting his girlfriend at a restaurant where she worked, and when he left the gate was shut so he tried to climb it.
After falling in the accident on April 16, Chris was airlifted to hospital in nearby Rotterdam, Teesside Live reports.
The 38-year-old went through days of intensive care for a brain injury and other complications, but sadly he died on Monday, April 22.
Having agreed to organ donation , Chris’s kidneys are already helping two people enjoy a new lease of life.
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The popular electrician had been working near the Dutch port of Brielle for the past year.
His devastated family now face the heartbreaking task of having his body returned home and finalising funeral details.
They have had hundreds of messages of support since the tragic death.
Middlesbrough born and bred, and part of a large Linthorpe family, Chris trained to be an electrician at TTE.
A brother to Alan, 40, Sean, 37 and Natalie, 35, Chris usually worked offshore but after moving to Holland, he found a job onshore and was in a relationship with Dutch girlfriend Melany.
He enjoyed life in Holland and was even learning a bit of Dutch.
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But whenever he was home, he’d make a beeline to be with the children he doted on - Nancy, 11, Dottie, eight and Clint, two - who live with mum Lauren in Thornaby .
Sister Natalie explained how Chris had been to see Melany at the restaurant she worked at.
Situated on a small island and gated off when the restaurant was closed, the gate was shut when Chris made his way back to the mainland, so he climbed the gate - only to fall, with tragic consequences.
Chris’s parents Maria and Alan, who travelled out to be with Chris in hospital, have since paid a poignant visit to the spot with Melany.
Natalie said: “We talk about it but it just doesn’t seem real.
“He loved it in Holland - he was happy there. He had his work, he had Melany, the place he lived was gorgeous - you can see why he loved it over there.
"The only thing was he really missed was his children, but he would come back and see them when he could - he was totally devoted to them.”
She said Chris was “very handsome - girls loved him - and he was very popular around here.”
An Arsenal fan from when he was a kid, Natalie said Chris enjoyed going out, calling him “the life and soul of the party”, and loved wearing designer trainers.
“He was always smart, never scruffy,” added Natalie, who said that as a brother growing up, he was “cheeky and mischievous - him and Sean were like twins and I was the good little sister. But he was always kind, loving and very, very popular.
“He was loving and so generous - he would never seen anyone go without. People say they’d give you their last penny but with Chris, it would be true.
“He had so many groups of friends - school friends, people in Linthorpe and Acklam, his friends from work...he was loved by so many people.”
Natalie says the family particularly wants to thank a group of work friends who set up a GoFundMe page - initially to help Chris on his road to recovery - and which has now reached more than £13,000.
