Kirsty Mckenzie
TWO people have been left seriously injured in Marbella after freak jumping incidents that police fear were related to drugs.
Cops in Spain issued a warning on the dangers of consuming laughing gas after it played a role in two major accidents at the luxury Costa del Sol resort.
Officers revealed a girl was seriously injured after consuming alcohol and ‘laughing gas’ with friends before leaping out of a moving vehicle and jumping from a bridge.
Meanwhile a man, aged 31, remains in intensive care and is in critical condition after he plunged to the ground from a third-floor holiday rental apartment in San Pedro de Alcántara on Monday.
Both incidents happened in the same week and have been linked to the party drug, according to the police.
They have warned that while legal in small quantities, the use of nitrous oxide, particularly when combined with alcohol, can cause changes and damage in the nervous system, as well as blood and lung cells.
It comes as a British man was seriously injured when he fell from a third floor flat at a property in San Pedro de Alcantara.
The 31-year-old suffered multiple fractures including a severe head injury and damage to his internal organs and was rushed to the Costa del Sol Hospital.
It is thought that the man had been attempting to jump from the balcony into the swimming pool of the apartment complex at 7pm on Monday evening.
Emergency services believe he mis-judged the jump and hit a sun parasol rather than the pool.
Diario Sur reports that the man was apparently enjoying a party with companions when he decided to jump into the swimming pool, which is several metres from the terrace – a practice known as ‘balconing’.
Medics called to the scene spent 40 minutes stabilising the condition of the victim before he was taken to hospital.
He was then transferred to the Regional Hospital in Malaga for treatment to his ‘very serious’ head injury.
Balconing has become infamous in Spain, with many deaths reported in the past few years.
Most cases have occurred in the Balearic Islands, with Mallorca (and Magaluf) particularly notorious for the reckless behaviour.
In 2018 alone, eight young people died and as many were injured while balconing on the island.
READ MORE:
Young expat starts campaign to raise awareness against balconing in Spain
UK Foreign Office warns of deadly ‘balconing’ trend among young holidaymakers in Spain
Posters encouraging tourists to jump off balconies spotted in Brit holiday hotspots in Spain
