TWO generous friends have helped to raise more than £12,000 for the family of a young man from the North of Ireland who died in Ibiza at the weekend.
Hundreds of people have made donations on two separate online fundraising pages to help with the cost of bringing home the remains of Alan Drennan and to pay for his funeral.
The 21-year-old from Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, died in his hotel room less than 24 hours after arriving on the Mediterranean island on Saturday with a group of friends.
The cause of Mr Drennan’s death has not yet been established, but the Police Service of Northern Ireland are to carry out an investigation into the events surrounding the tragedy.
Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: "Detectives from Serious Crime Branch are aware of the death of Alan Drennan in Ibiza and will be speaking with his family.
"We will gather any relevant evidence and speak to any potential witnesses to assist in the investigation being carried out by the Spanish Police."
Mr Drennan's friends Mellissa Anderson and Peter Neish had planned to raise £5,000 and £1,000 respectively, and both have since doubled their targets.
Over 800 pledges have been made on both pages, with the total raised so far standing at £12,017 on Thursday morning.
Both online fundraising portals will be open for a month.
Ms Anderson said: "The page was set up to help Verona and Alan [Drennan's parents] as much as possible throughout this nightmare.
"It's basically to cover any costs for the funeral and if any money is left over it will be given to the charity which is helping bring Alan home.
"If everyone could put anything into it, it would help so much and just show how much support they have.
"I can't even describe how thankful I am to every single person who has donated.
"It really is going to make a difference but please keep sharing and posting so we can keep it going for people that have missed it. Thank you again everyone."
The Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust will assist the Drennan family alleviate the financial hardship in bringing Alan home.
