Dutch tourist dies after falling from hotel balcony in Bulgaria
An 18-year-old Dutch tourist died after falling four storeys from the balcony of a hotel room in Bulgaria’s popular Black Sea summer resort of Sunny Beach on June 30, the police department in Bourgas said in a statement.
This was the third incident involving hotel balconies in the resort in the past two weeks – on June 16, a 19-year-old tourist from the UK died after falling 10 storeys from the balcony of his hotel room and a 22-year-old German tourist was reported on June 27 to be in coma after sustaining injuries following a four-storey fall.
The Dutch tourist had arrived on June 29 and checked in in a hotel room on the third floor. After an evening out to celebrate his birthday, he visited a room into which some of his friends had checked in and fell from its balcony, the police report said.
The tourist died on the spot; the initial report did not show visible signs of violence, the police said.
There have been a number of reports of such falls from hotel balconies at Sunny Beach and other resorts in 2012, with at least one fatality, and falls from balconies also were reported in previous years.
Such incidents have become so frequent in Bulgaria that the British foreign and commonwealth office (FCO) issued a travel advisory to British holidaymakers to “take care on balconies in popular holiday hotspots” on June 28.
The British embassy in Bulgaria had to deal with several deaths and injuries from balcony falls, British consul in Sofia Jon O’Shaughnessy said.
“Unfortunately we are already experiencing balcony accidents again. Our staff have seen the devastating effects a momentary lapse in judgement can have on the victim and their family and we are working hard to ensure people understand the risks,” he said.
(Photo: vacacionesbulgaria.com)
