Thai crash victim body flown home

Alex Collins set off on a six-month trip with girlfriend Bethan Jones

The body of a young backpacker missing since the Thai air crash has been flown home, it has been confirmed.

University graduate Alex Collins, 22, of Maesteg near Bridgend, had just embarked on a round-the-world trip when the flight crashed in Phuket.

Mr Collins' body has been flown home and his funeral will be held next Monday.

His girlfriend, Bethan Jones, 22, from Porth, Rhondda, is being treated in Bangkok for severe burns.

In a statement released by South Wales Police, Mr Collins' parents, Margaret and Richard, said: "Alex was a fantastic, loving son and our loss has left us with a hole in our hearts that can never be filled.

"He was an intelligent, polite and considerate young man with an extraordinary sense of humour.

Bethan Jones was transferred to a specialist unit in Bangkok

"He had a great zest for life and both he and his girlfriend Bethan were really looking forward to this trip that he had meticulously planned for over a year.

"We loved 'Alipal' more than words can express and cannot imagine life without him."

Mr Collins' funeral will take place at Our Lady and St Patrick's Church in Maesteg, before he is buried in Maesteg Cemetery.

Any donations given in Mr Collins' memory will be shared between the burns unit at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, and brain injury association Headway.

A spokesman for Bridgend Coroner's Office confirmed Mr Collins' body said an inquest had been opened and adjourned at Fulham Coroner's Court.

A total of 123 passengers, mostly foreign tourists, were on the One-Two-Go flight from Bangkok when it crashed and burst into flames as it was attempting to land on the island of Phuket on September 16.

The plane appeared to slide off the runway in Phuket, Thailand

Miss Jones and Mr Collins, who had both graduated from Cardiff University, were just three days into their trip.

Miss Jones, who suffered 50% burns, is among the 42 people who survived.

She was flown by military aircraft on Tuesday, 18 September to a special unit in Bangkok General Hospital, which treats patients with more than 40% skin burns.