Ryan ‘loved life’, ‘loved his friends’ and ‘was in the happiest place he has ever been’
Ryan Hutchinson was described as ‘fun’ and ‘fiercely protective’ of his loved ones(Image: Family handout)
A Hull man sadly died in a tragic crash while on holiday in Vietnam. Ryan Hutchinson, 43, described by his family as an adventurous man who “loved life”, died in a collision when his motorcycle is reported to have collided with a bus in Hanoi on Monday.
Ryan, from the Orchard Park area of Hull, had a deep passion for travel, which was ignited when he volunteered in Cameroon as a teenager. He has also explored the British coast in a converted van and lived abroad in Spain.
Paying tribute to Ryan, his brother Stephen Hutchinson said: “Ryan loved life. Ryan lived fast. He loved his friends. Ryan would be one to grab hold of life by the neck and live it.
“He was fun. He was fiercely protective of his friends and his family. Right then in Vietnam, he was in the happiest place he has ever been.”
Stephen added: “When he was 18 he went out and did voluntary work and lived in Cameroon in Africa for six months with no electricity, no running water. He was teaching sport.
“He has been in and out of Vietnam and travelled there. He used to live out in Spain for a while, travelling and living in a van.”
Ryan’s grieving family now face having to put together money to pay off the morgue fees and have his body repatriated back to the UK.
Stephen said: “We are not a family of money, we are pretty hand-to-mouth. It is going to cost anywhere between £10,000 and £20,000 to bring him home.
“He didn’t have any insurance, so we’ve set up a GoFundMe page to try and get him back home.” Stephen said the family was told they had the option of cremation in Vietnam, but even that would cost £5,000.
The family say they only have a week to confirm they want to repatriate Ryan to the UK. Stephen said half the money must be paid upfront, and the rest must be paid within days – before Ryan’s body is transported – adding significant time pressure.
“You can’t say, ‘I want him to be repatriated’ if you don’t have the money,” he said. “It just makes everything really difficult, really complicated.”
At the time of writing, the fundraiser has received £6,500 in donations. You can view it on Go Fund Me here.
A spokesperson for The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Vietnam and are in contact with the local authorities.”