Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Man, 22, dies watching summer solstice sunset during longest day celebrations

Man pronounced dead at the scene as air ambulances flown to Devon beauty spot

Andy Gregory
Friday 24 June 2022 04:16 EDT
The 22-year-old was watching the sunset at Haytor Rocks (pictured) when he suffered a cardiac arrest
The 22-year-old was watching the sunset at Haytor Rocks (pictured) when he suffered a cardiac arrest (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A young man has died during summer solstice celebrations in Dartmoor.

The 22-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest just before 10pm on Tuesday, as crowds gathered at the Haytor Rocks beauty spot to watch the sun set on the longest day of the year.

Both air and land ambulances were called, but the man was declared dead at the scene.

He was reported to have suffered a medical episode, said Devon and Cornwall Police, who were alerted to the situation by the ambulance service.

His next of kin are aware and his death is not being treated as supicious, police said in a statement on Thursday.

“Police were contacted by the ambulance service just before 10pm on Tuesday 21 June with reports of a man in his 20s having suffered a medical episode at Haytor Rocks,” a police spokesperson said on Friday morning.

"Police along with air and land ambulance all attended but the man was declared deceased at the scene. His next of kin are aware and the death is not being treated as suspicious.

“A file is to be prepared for the coroner.”

A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said: “We were called at 21.43hrs to an incident on Haytor.

“Resources we sent included two double-crewed land ambulances, a doctor, an operations officer and an air ambulance.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in