Tributes have been paid to a Scottish investment management firm analyst who died after a suspected carbon monoxide leak which has left his partner fighting for her life.
Jaime Carsi, 40, was found dead on Saturday afternoon at a house in Majorca by emergency responders who discovered Scots tourist Mary Somerville, 39, unconscious and barely breathing alongside him.
The couple are understood to have jetted from their home in Edinburgh to spend some holiday time at the rural property in Cala Mesquida in the north-east of the island.
Mary, a former Lloyds bank worker who taught yoga and meditation through a volunteer-based NGO her partner was also heavily involved in, remains in a “serious condition” in an intensive care unit at Manacor Hospital in Majorca.
Patti Montella, a friend of the couple’s, described Jaime as a “magnificent soul” in an emotional social media post.
She wrote alongside a photo of her with Jaime and Mary: “Jaime Carsi came into my life and took up residence in my heart, so many years ago, in London. His smile and spirit are pure love.
“And when he married our precious Edinburgh girl, sweet Mary, it was a match made in heaven. You left us waaaay too soon my little one. What a prince you are, such a magnificent soul.”
Another friend, who worked alongside Jaime at the NGO they were involved in, added: “Thank you so much for all the good memories and also being my partner in crime teaching Art of Living courses and running the meditation centre.”
Local reports after the tragedy described both the dead man and his partner as British. It emerged on Tuesday they had been holidaying in Majorca and lived in Edinburgh.
An investigation into the tragedy is ongoing although initial local reports have pointed to the cause being a faulty gas-powered fridge.
Well-placed sources said they were investigating the possibility deadly carbon monoxide gas had been seeping out all night while the couple slept in the main bedroom before the alarm was raised and they were discovered following an anguished call from a relative of Jaime's.
Jaime described himself online as being from Madrid although he is believed to have moved to the UK as a child with his parents when they emigrated for work reasons and relocated to Edinburgh around six years ago when he got a job as an investment risk analyst at Baillie Gifford after several years in London.
Police in Majorca have said very little about Saturday’s tragedy, other than to confirm it remains under investigation. An investigating magistrate has been tasked with coordinating the probe.
The latest tragedy occurred less than five months after a similar drama claimed the lives of a British couple at their expat home in Majorca.
Michael Rowan, 62, and his 56-year-old partner Sharon Price were found lifeless at their country property near the picturesque town of Selva, around an hour’s drive from Cala Mesquida, on December 19 last year after their worried UK-based son got someone to go round and check on them.
A subsequent post-mortem confirmed they died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the farmhouse they had moved to the previous year. Their bodies lay undiscovered for two days.
Local reports at the time linked the intoxications to a leak in a wood burning stove through loose-fitting pipework that meant poisonous fumes entered the room where it was installed.
The motor of a portable generator said to have been kept inside the property, despite recommendations appliances of this kind should be kept outside, is also believed to have produced the odourless and colourless gas blamed for the couple’s deaths.
The nearest town to Cala Mesquida, famed for its beautiful sandy beach and popular with Germans and British, is Capdepera which is about five miles away.
The house where the latest gas leak tragedy occurred has been described as a rural property. Unconfirmed local reports say it is owned by the dead man’s father.
Art of Living, which Jaime and Mary have been involved in for years from their base in Edinburgh, was founded by Indian yoga guru and spiritual leader Ravi Shankar.
It describes itself on its UK website as an organisation set up in 1981 to help people relieve stress and anxiety through tools including breathing techniques, social initiatives, meditation and yoga.
It operates as a non-profit, educational and humanitarian organisation in more than 150 countries around the world.
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