British influencer fighting for her life after being mysteriously found unconscious in her apartment
Police in South Korea busted down the door of a British influencer's apartment to find her unconscious and 'unresponsive', her family have said.
Ashley Surcombe, 29, is fighting for her life in intensive care at a hospital in the country's capital, Seoul, while suffering from 'multiple organ damage' and severe dehydration.
Her loved ones are now desperately trying to work out what happened to the content creator, while explaining how they feel 'so helpless and so far away'.
Ashley, who originally hails from Evesham, Worcestershire, has been living in South Korea for the last five years and speaks the language fluently.
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Her parents Nigel and Karen contacted police in the country via a friend after they grew concerned for their daughter when she stopped responding to their messages and calls.
Officers then broke into the influencer's apartment, where she lives alone, on Monday (24 March) to find her unconscious on the floor of her bathroom.
There were no signs of forced entry, according to police, but Ashley's family are still in search of answers.
Her devastated dad has now flown out to be at her bedside as the social media star remains in in intensive care, while her medical bills continue to tot up.
A fundraiser has now been launched in aid of Ashley - who boasts 465,000 Instagram followers and over a million across all of her platforms - to help fund her treatment.
Her elder sister Kat Surcombe, 33, explained that they still 'don’t yet know the full extent of the damage, but we do know it’s serious'.
She has launched a GoFundMe to help cover Ashley's continually increasing medical bills and to bring her home to the UK.
Kat, an aerospace engineer, explained that Ashley’s 'health insurance recently expired, meaning all medical costs must be paid out-of-pocket' in a post on the fundraiser.
She wrote: "My parents have already paid a £3,000 deposit just for her treatment, and the expenses are quickly adding up.
"In just 24 hours, most of that £3,000 deposit may already be gone - and we have no idea how long Ashley will need care.
"Once she’s stable, we also need to arrange a flight to bring her back home to the UK, which could cost £1,000+."
Kat said they've estimated that Ashley will be charged up to £1,500 for every day she is in the ICU and around £500 for her 'general hospital stay' when she is stabilised.
As well as this, the family reckon tests and scans will cost in excess of £1,000, while the price of medications and treatments are 'ongoing and unpredictable'.
"My parents have recently retired, and as a family, we don’t have an abundance of money to cover these unexpected and overwhelming costs," Kat added.
Ashley's worried sibling also spoke about the mystery surrounding her sister's illness, telling the Daily Mail they 'just don't know what happened'.
"We are trying to find out exactly, but it’s been difficult, and we have had to rely on contacts out there," she said. "She was found unresponsive and unconscious on the floor; she didn’t have any broken bones, but she was severely dehydrated and has major organ failure.
"About a week ago she told us she hit her head against the door and got a nasty bruise on her eye."
Kat said her sister's blood sugar levels are very low and recalled how Ashley 'seemed confused' when they last chatted with her on Saturday (22 March).
"It’s been very difficult, it’s been a shock for all of us," she added. "We all just want her home, she’s my baby sister and I want to give her the biggest cuddle and tell her that I love her.
"I am also really worried about my parents; they have just retired, and this has the potential to financially ruin them."
You can check out the GoFundMe for Ashley here.
Topics: Health, UK News, World News, Social Media
Olivia Burke