HEARTBREAKING tributes have poured in for two Brits who died when they jumped into a pool while on holiday in Portugal.
King Edonmi, 29 and his pal Mo, 27, were discovered lifeless by another friend at the bottom of a hotel swimming pool in Albufeira on Tuesday.
King Edonmi, 29 and his friend Mo, 27, were found at the bottom of a hotel swimming poolGoFundme
The Brits had arrived on holiday less than 24 hours before they diedGoFundme
Emergency services rushed to the scene at around 4.30am, but pronounced the pair dead – less than 24 hours after they had arrived in the country.
Devastated friends have set up a GoFundMe appeal to help the grieving families cover the cost of bringing their bodies home – which will be more than £10,000.
The page includes a touching tribute to King and Mo, who it says were “brothers to many”.
The appeal continues: “Gentle, kind-hearted souls who brought light into every room they entered.
“The kind of people who would drop everything to help you, no questions asked.
“They were warm, loyal, funny and full of dreams.
“The sort of men you never hear a bad word about because there simply were none.
“They were deeply devoted to their families, their friends and their faith.
“And now, all of that has been taken so suddenly and so unfairly.”
The GoFundMe appeal explains that there are piles of paperwork and “overwhelming costs” involved in repatriating the bodies of the two men.
Friends wrote: “We are asking from the bottom of our hearts for your help.
“Every donation, no matter how big or small, will go directly to their families to help cover the cost of bringing Mo and King home and to support them during this time of unimaginable grief.
“Please give what you can, share this with others and keep their families in your prayers.
“Mo and King, you were loved more than words can say.
“Your light will never fade. Rest peacefully.”
The appeal has so far raised more than £14,000.
Post-mortems have been carried out on the bodies, but the results are unlikely to be published.
However, a police officer who visited the scene rubbished the idea they had been drinking before getting into the pool – as some local reports had suggested.
Their friend Awande Luthuli describing the pair as “loving, joyful and respectful, truly good souls, without any trace of evil.”
The pair’s friends have rallied around to support the bereaved families with a GoFundMe appealGofundme
GettyThe friends died in a pool in Albufeira (file image)[/caption]
He said: “They were not typical party tourists.”
“They had travelled as part of a group and met up with friends who lived in Portugal.
“They both lived by strong principles and values, including the choice of not drinking.”
A well-placed police source said today the design of the pool and the fact they couldn’t swim, and not excess alcohol, was likely to be behind what happened.
He said, speaking on condition of anonymity and without knowing the results of the autopsy: “It’s not a case of excess alcohol or drugs.
“Everything is pointing to this being a terrible accident with two people who didn’t know how to swim.”
Saying he believed the men had only been in Albufeira around five hours, he added: “it is a very weird swimming pool.
“It has shallow water in most of the pool but a very deep approximately three-metre pit in the middle.
“The two men were seen talking with some girls by the pool and then went to the pool and got into difficulties in that deep middle part.
“They weren’t able to swim. It’s not a case of excess, but an unfortunate accident in a bizarre swimming pool.”
The deaths are not being treated as suspicious at this stage.
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