20 year old Briton critically ill in latest case of "balconing"

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_26960.shtml


There have been as many as fifteen deaths so far this year from falls from hotel and apartment balconies on the Baleares


A 20 year old British man is critically ill in hospital in Ibiza after falling from a hotel balcony on Sunday. Sky News names 20 year old Ryan Elley from Portsmouth and says he fell from the second floor of the Jet Apartments in Ibiza and is now fighting for his life in a coma.

Spanish reports speak of another unnamed British tourist who threw himself from the third floor of an apartment block in Platja d’en Bossa, and report that this was one of three similar accidents seen in just a 12 hour period.

It came as several Spanish media printed articles about what they said was ‘balconing’, which has become a ‘fashionable sport’ among young British and German tourists.

Many tourists have videoed their dangerous jumps from balconies into hotel swimming pools, or from balcony to balcony, and placed the footage on Youtube.

Fifteen people have died this year so far on the Balearic Islands after falling from buildings according to newspaper Que, and the authorities there estimate that there is one accident every two days from the activity. Most of the accidents have been seen in Magaluf, Palmanova, El Arenal and Alcudia on Mallorca where there have been 11 fatalities so far this year, and at Plaja d'en Bossa in Ibiza where there have been another four deaths.

The local regional Baleares Government has said that it has 49 recorded cases of ‘accidental’ falls from balconies between January and June this year.

Some hotels have already responded to the craze by putting up screens in an attempt to stop the jumps which tend to take place when the tourists return from a night out and are often drunk or under the influence of drugs. The friends of one man recently injured who made a jump admitted to health workers that he had taken a mixture of alcohol, ecstasy and crystal.

http://www.typicallyspanish.com/news/publish/article_30986.shtml

Two new cases of "balconing" on the same night on the Baleares


Despite recent coverage of injuries and the dangers, youngsters continue to risk their lives


Two new cases of ‘Balconing’ on the same Monday night has left two people seriously injured in Magalluf, Mallorca and Sant Antoni on Ibiza.

The first victim was an 18 year old woman who fell just after 1am from a room of the Florenzo Hostal in Calle Soledad in Sant Antoni. The victim was taken to the Can Misses Hospital.

The other victim was male and fell from the first floor in the Avenida Notari Alemany in Magaluf, Mallorca at 1,40am.
Emergency Services say that both were seriously injured.