British tourist dies and kills another man in Marbella balcony fall
A British tourist who fell from his hotel balcony on Saturday in the southern Spanish city of Marbella has died, landing on and killing a local businessman dining below.
The tragedy took place in the early hours of Saturday at Meliá Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella when a fifty-year-old British tourist fell from the balcony in his room on the seventh floor.
The man, reported by local police sources as weighing 100kg, landed on a local gym businessman who was having dinner outdoors at the hotel restaurant with his friends and wife.
Both men were instantly killed in the impact.
Spanish National Police are currently investigating the incident, with initial evidence suggesting the British man had consumed alcohol.
A similar freak accident took place in Marbella in 2010 when a 20-year-old woman attempted to commit suicide by jumping from her balcony on the 8th floor, surviving the fall but killing an 89-year-old woman when she impacted against the ground.
Saturday’s accident is the first balcony fall involving a tourist since Spain ended its lockdown and reopened its borders to foreign visitors.
Some of Spain’s main holiday hotspots have been affected by similar tourist deaths in recent years.
Often they’ve come as result of what the Spanish press has dubbed “balconing”, the extremely dangerous practice of attempting to jump from a hotel balcony into the swimming pool down below, usually from a considerable height.
Rather than a jump it ends up being an accidental fall in 85 percent of cases, with victims - mostly young British tourists - usually if not always under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
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The tragedy took place in the early hours of Saturday at Meliá Don Pepe Hotel in Marbella when a fifty-year-old British tourist fell from the balcony in his room on the seventh floor.
The man, reported by local police sources as weighing 100kg, landed on a local gym businessman who was having dinner outdoors at the hotel restaurant with his friends and wife.
Both men were instantly killed in the impact.
Spanish National Police are currently investigating the incident, with initial evidence suggesting the British man had consumed alcohol.
A similar freak accident took place in Marbella in 2010 when a 20-year-old woman attempted to commit suicide by jumping from her balcony on the 8th floor, surviving the fall but killing an 89-year-old woman when she impacted against the ground.
Saturday’s accident is the first balcony fall involving a tourist since Spain ended its lockdown and reopened its borders to foreign visitors.
Some of Spain’s main holiday hotspots have been affected by similar tourist deaths in recent years.
Often they’ve come as result of what the Spanish press has dubbed “balconing”, the extremely dangerous practice of attempting to jump from a hotel balcony into the swimming pool down below, usually from a considerable height.
Rather than a jump it ends up being an accidental fall in 85 percent of cases, with victims - mostly young British tourists - usually if not always under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
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