Ben Pawlowski
A YOUNG British tourist has been left seriously injured after falling from a hotel balcony in Ibiza, the latest case in a worrying trend of such accidents involving UK visitors to Spain.
The 22-year-old was rushed to hospital on Monday after plunging from the third floor of the Marco Polo Hotel in the town of San Antonio, the heart of Ibiza’s renowned nightlife – and a hotspot for incidents involving Brits this summer.
The unnamed victim was taken to nearby Can Misses Hospital with serious head and chest injuries, with the Guardia Civil set to launch an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
In a statement, a police spokesperson said: “A 22-year-old British tourist was rushed to hospital after falling from the third floor of a hotel in San Antonio.
“He was conscious when he was taken away.”
The Marco Polo Hotel has already been in the headlines this summer for all the wrong reasons – with Brits involved yet again.
READ MORE: English footballer who threw stool at woman in Ibiza poolside brawl: ‘She went down a bit easy’
The hotel was the site of a poolside brawl in June involving Oldham Athletic striker Kian Harratt and his friends.
The English footballer was even filmed lobbing a chair at a female holidaymaker as tempers flared at the three-star accommodation.
This week’s incident is also the latest in a tragic pattern of fatal or serious falls involving British holidaymakers this summer.
According to research conducted by the Olive Press, at least seven Brits have been seriously injured or killed after falling from balconies or roofs across Spain this holiday season.
Six of those seven accidents have taken place in party hotspot San Antonio – including three heartbreaking deaths, with two even occurring at the same popular hotel.
The first incident of the summer took place in early May when an 18-year-old Brit was left in a critical condition after falling from a third-floor balcony on Calle Soledat in San Antonio.
Just two weeks later, a British partygoer was left fighting for his life in a Marbella hospital after plunging from a third-floor balcony at the Hard Rock Hotel in Puerto Banus.
Harry Watts, 24, suffered life-threatening injuries including a bleed on the brain, severe internal damage and multiple broken bones following the fall, described by pals as a ‘horrific freak accident’.
A fundraiser launched to support Harry and his family has raised over €28,000.
Two days later, an 8-year-old boy was seriously hurt after falling from the third floor of the Vibra Bay Aparthotel on Calle Vedranell in San Antonio.
San Antonio, famous for its nightlife and tourism, was then struck by a tragic trio of deaths in July – including two at the same hotel.
Scottish holidaymakers Evan Thomson, 26, and Gary Kelly, 19, died just two weeks apart after separate incidents at the four-star Ibiza Rocks Hotel in San Antonio.
A 33-year-old woman also collapsed and died in her room in April, bringing the total number of deaths involving Brits at the hotel to three this year.
In response, Ibiza Rocks Hotel paused all upcoming music and entertainment events as staff and visitors came to terms with the spate of tragic incidents.
Elsewhere, on July 14, a British man died after falling seven metres from a supermarket parking lot.
The incident happened at the Mercadona store on Calle Johann Sebastian Bach in San Antonio.
It is unknown how many incidents have been treated as potential cases of so-called ‘balconing’, the dangerous trend where predominantly-foreign tourists try to jump from their balconies into hotel swimming pools.
Previously, authorities have blamed unfamiliarity with balconies as a key factor in the surge in incidents, with Brit holidaymakers often underestimating the risks attached.
Others have linked the cases to binge-drinking where holidaymakers make the most of easy access to cheap alcohol.
Some locals have even taken to mocking the number of fatal or serious falls involving foreign tourists visiting Spain.
The Federació Balear de Balconing (the Balearic Balconing Federation) is an unofficial account on X with almost 60,000 followers that posts a ‘league table’ with points allocated to different countries – with double points handed out for incidents that lead to deaths.
The account was slammed last year as ‘vile’ by a Scottish Government minister after the tragic death of Emma Ramsay, a 19-year-old law undergraduate from South Lanarkshire, was described as a ‘comeback’ for the UK.
Following the incident – which took place last August – the account tweeted, ‘Everyone trusted that the kings of this sport would once again be leaders,’ adding that ‘the British never disappoint’ and that the death promised a ‘fast-paced final phase of the league’.
The league table awards each country two points for a death and one point for an injury. In the event of a tie, the average number of floors fallen is calculated.
This week’s latest incident was also celebrated by the account with a tweet that said, ‘Who has scored? It’s always the same!’, followed by a string of emojis of the Union Jack.
“The falls of the British in San Antonio have already become the iconic image of the #BalconLeague25, it’s insane (and worthy of study) the lead they have in the rankings,” the tweet added.
Currently, the UK are in first place with eight points, followed by Germany with four points, and Turkey with three points.
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