Tourism Minister David Allen died yesterday after losing a six-week battle with abdomen cancer.

The 59-year-old Progressive Labour Party stalwart passed away at 2.30 p.m. with close friends beside him at a home in Tucker's Town.

His death follows his release from the Lahey Clinic in Boston last Friday, where he was rushed for emergency treatment and detained in the Intensive Care Unit.

But Mr. Allen made the decision to return home to Bermuda last weekend to be with the people he loved during his final days.

Yesterday, tributes poured in for Mr. Allen, and Government Ministers gathered at the Cabinet Office to release the sad news to the people of Bermuda.

Premier Jennifer Smith was off the Island yesterday, but paid a tribute to her close friend and colleague Mr. Allen in a written statement, which was read by Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott.

"Minister Allen was not only a long-time political colleague but a very close personal friend," she wrote.

"It will take some time for me to come to terms with Minister Allen's passing. He meant a great deal to me and I will particularly miss his boundless energy, enthusiasm and smart wit."

Ms Smith said she considered it an honour to have served with him in Cabinet and to have called him her friend.

"I gain solace from the fact that Minister Allen has made his peace with God. Although he is now in a better place, he will be greatly missed by the friends he has left behind."

Mr. Scott told The Royal Gazette yesterday that Mr. Allen was unconscious when he finally slipped away.

He said he had visited him yesterday lunchtime and only left his room 45 minutes before he died.

Mr. Scott said: "He had slipped into unconsciousness and was comfortable. He had had around the clock medical attention.

"He had known about the cancer for about six weeks. He knew about a week ago (that there was no treatment) and that is why he elected to fly home. "He was told how serious his condition was and the prognosis. And that is why he wanted to be at home in Bermuda."

At the subdued press briefing yesterday afternoon, Labour and Home Affairs Minister Terry Lister said he had very much enjoyed working with Mr. Allen.

He said: "We had a lot of interesting times together. David was a person who never left you in any doubt as to what he stood for. He stood for a better Bermuda. He was prepared to give it his all."

But Mr. Lister said one of the sad things for him is that Mr. Allen, who became Tourism Minister in 1998, will not be there when the tourists really start to return to the Island. And he said he believed they would return.

However, Mr. Scott said he had to disagree.

"In talking with Mr. Allen a few days ago, he said 'I'm prepared to tender my resignation, so the work of tourism can go on'," said Mr. Scott.

"Without consulting with the Premier, I said 'Minister, you will be the Tourism Minister for the rest of your life'.

"And knowing David Allen, he took me very seriously, and he will be around in spirit to watch over us in whatever we do and, heaven forbid if we do it wrong.

"He will some how get a word in and get us back on path."

Funeral arrangements for Mr. Allen will follow very soon. Mr. Scott said contact had been made with Mr. Allen's only relative, his sister Laura Joy McCray, who lives in Kentucky in the US, has been contacted and funeral arrangements will be made in conjunction with her and her children.