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There but for the grace of ...

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Boy fell to his death from White Cliffs of Dover on his 12th birthday

A young boy who fell to his death from the White Cliffs of Dover was celebrating his 12th birthday on the first day of a family holiday, an inquest has heard. Mati Urb was visiting Kent with his parents and two siblings for the Easter break. The Estonian family, who moved to London in 2021, planned a trip around the south coast of England in a camper van. But during a walk along the famous clifftop, Mati’s parents lost sight of their son and started to look for him. A passer-by eventually called the Coastguard at around 6.15pm, who deployed a lifeboat, helicopter and Kent Police officers out to search for Mati. He was spotted an hour later at the base of the cliffs, in an area that is inaccessible on foot. He was given medical treatment but was declared dead at the scene less than two hours later. A post-mortem found that he died from head injuries. At an inquest in Maidstone, coroner Katrina Hepburn ruled the youngster’s death was an accident. Ms Hepburn said: ‘I don’t know how Mati came to fall from the cliff – it was unwitnessed. Whether he tripped and fell, whether it was the wind, or whether he was looking too far over the edge, I simply don’t know. I know that’s of no comfort to the family to have this unexplained as to how Mati came to fall.’

Seems to have done almost exactly as happened to me when I was about that age, but where I managed to survive by the existence of one larger tuft of grass. The grassy top is rounded (so not easy to see how close one is to the edge) and rather lumpy, such that a trip is quite possible, and once started might not be such as to be easily stopped. Happened to me, but I was very lucky. After tripping over the grass, falling and rolling, and then finding myself sliding down on my front as the top curved downwards, I remember vainly trying to stop my falling by grasping the short grass as I began to go ever faster, and where most of which just tore away in my hands. Fortunately one large lump of grass was bigger and tougher than the others, and which saved me. Poor boy, could just as well have been me, and like this boy, no one was around to witness my incident.

Of course I can't be sure that it was the same place where I tripped, but the cliff-top path is likely to be the main tourist walk in the area. I suppose contacting the family to tell my story might not help much?
 

ChristineM

"Be strong", I whispered to my coffee.
Premium Member
I thought the was talk of a fence being erected along the edge.


That feeling of helpless and terror is such situations. You know you are going to die and cannot do anything to prevent it.
Unless luck is with you.
Poor kid.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
I thought the was talk of a fence being erected along the edge.


That feeling of helpless and terror is such situations. You know you are going to die and cannot do anything to prevent it.
Unless luck is with you.
Poor kid.
A decent fence might prevent such tragedies, and I can't recall one being there many decades ago. The rounded top probably makes it especially dangerous. But then plenty of adults are killed in similar circumstances, with selfies often being the issue now. :oops:

For kids though, perhaps some don't learn sufficiently about dangers until too late. I was very, very lucky.
 

Brian2

Veteran Member
It's so easy to end up in situations like that, where we almost die.
It's so easy to end up in a situation where we are responsible or almost responsible for the death of someone else.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
I'm happy that you survived, and saddened to hear about the boy that didn't. It is a strong reminder that every new day is a gift.
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
Curious as to the title of the OP, did you intend, 'but for the grace of God, there go I.'
I never did like that phrase, there seems to be the intent that those unlucky and don't
survive is due to their being outside of God's grace.
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Curious as to the title of the OP, did you intend, 'but for the grace of God, there go I.'
I never did like that phrase, there seems to be the intent that those unlucky and don't
survive is due to their being outside of God's grace.
Same here, and so why I missed out a bit. :D
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
Silly me - and a sign of old age perhaps. :oops:

My incident occurred at Hastings as I recall (not at Dover), and therefore - given the distance between them - could not have occurred on any walk connecting them. Still, perhaps the same scenario applied as to tripping and not being able to recover.
 

JIMMY12345

Active Member
Boy fell to his death from White Cliffs of Dover on his 12th birthday

A young boy who fell to his death from the White Cliffs of Dover was celebrating his 12th birthday on the first day of a family holiday, an inquest has heard. Mati Urb was visiting Kent with his parents and two siblings for the Easter break. The Estonian family, who moved to London in 2021, planned a trip around the south coast of England in a camper van. But during a walk along the famous clifftop, Mati’s parents lost sight of their son and started to look for him. A passer-by eventually called the Coastguard at around 6.15pm, who deployed a lifeboat, helicopter and Kent Police officers out to search for Mati. He was spotted an hour later at the base of the cliffs, in an area that is inaccessible on foot. He was given medical treatment but was declared dead at the scene less than two hours later. A post-mortem found that he died from head injuries. At an inquest in Maidstone, coroner Katrina Hepburn ruled the youngster’s death was an accident. Ms Hepburn said: ‘I don’t know how Mati came to fall from the cliff – it was unwitnessed. Whether he tripped and fell, whether it was the wind, or whether he was looking too far over the edge, I simply don’t know. I know that’s of no comfort to the family to have this unexplained as to how Mati came to fall.’

Seems to have done almost exactly as happened to me when I was about that age, but where I managed to survive by the existence of one larger tuft of grass. The grassy top is rounded (so not easy to see how close one is to the edge) and rather lumpy, such that a trip is quite possible, and once started might not be such as to be easily stopped. Happened to me, but I was very lucky. After tripping over the grass, falling and rolling, and then finding myself sliding down on my front as the top curved downwards, I remember vainly trying to stop my falling by grasping the short grass as I began to go ever faster, and where most of which just tore away in my hands. Fortunately one large lump of grass was bigger and tougher than the others, and which saved me. Poor boy, could just as well have been me, and like this boy, no one was around to witness my incident.

Of course I can't be sure that it was the same place where I tripped, but the cliff-top path is likely to be the main tourist walk in the area. I suppose contacting the family to tell my story might not help much?
If properly phrased why not...?
 

Mock Turtle

Oh my, did I say that!
Premium Member
If properly phrased why not...?
Contacting them? No, thinking about it, it wouldn't really help, and my experiences would likely just confirm what they probably think - that he got too close to the edge, tripped, and didn't manage to save himself. I doubt any would have thought he took his own life, so however the accident happened, it is of no comfort to the grieving relatives.
 
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