A young wife who died in a tanning salon has been described as "the most generous person you could ever meet" by her heartbroken husband. Piata Tauwhare headed to Lextan near her home in Swansea on Saturday, May 28, for an 11-minute tan but died shortly after her session.
The 30-year-old is believed to have had a cardiac arrest minutes after getting out of the tanning bed with her mother-in-law going to look for her after not hearing from her for an hour.
Piata's husband Ifan Jones said his mum went to the Fforestfach salon thinking she might have left her phone there without realising but when she was shown to the room the mental health support worker was using, she found her daughter-in-law dead on the floor.
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The 23-year-old told the Liverpool Echo that his Liverpool FC supporting wife was "the most generous person you could ever meet". He said: "Not one person could ever say a bad word about her and she would bend over backwards for anybody, friends, family, or strangers. It's hard.
"She helped me with everything. I suffer from anxiety and stuff like that and literally anything, she would do anything for me. Every single one of my friends and family got on with her straight away. Everyone loved her. If I was ever seen without her everyone would ask how she was."
Ifan, who lived with Piata in their home in Swansea, has said he thinks the love of his life could have been saved if she had been found earlier. He has also claimed the tanning salon staff should have checked on her.
The warehouse operative said: "She had something similar to a cardiac arrest in the tanning salon, Lextan. She went in there at 1.50pm for an 11-minute session. She wasn't answering her phone so my mum and I both nipped out of work to see if everything was okay.
"We found her lying in a room deceased. The staff members hadn't checked on her. She must have had a funny turn and passed away. From what I've been told the longest you can be in there is 20 minutes but she was only booked in for 11 minutes.
"Normally they come and check on you five minutes after the session so they can clean the bed for the next customer. They didn't even check if she was in there or not. It was my mum who found her.
"I asked her to have a look so the staff took her to an empty room and there was no phone. Then, as my mum was leaving they realised she was in another room and the door was locked. My mum looked under the door and saw her feet. They then went to find the key and when we finally got in she was dead."
Ifan has now started a GoFundMe to raise money so Piata's body can be transported to New Zealand for a traditional burial in her native country. He said: "We want to get her back to New Zealand to be with her friends and family and have a traditional funeral.
"I also want to go there and be with her to see her finally put to rest. There will be a ceremony here with my friends and family showing their respects but then we will then fly her out to New Zealand to do it properly."
A Lextan spokesperson told the Liverpool Echo: "We can sadly confirm that a customer died while at our Fforestfach salon on Saturday, May 28. We give our condolences to the deceased’s family and friends, and we have also offered counselling to any affected staff. We are cooperating with the investigation into this case by South Wales Police and any further enquiries should be made to them at this time."
