Over the course of this summer four tourists have died in hotels in Mallorca and Ibiza after jumping from their balconies. Since June there have been over 30 incidents involving this type of accident and three have occurred over the last 36 hours alone.

The most recent incident involved a 20 year old British tourist who is now in a hospital in Palma in a critical condition. He was taken to hospital after falling from the second floor of an apartment complex in Platja d’en Bossa, located in Ibiza. According to his friends the incident, which occurred around 8pm yesterday evening, took place after excessive drinking and taking ecstasy on their arrival in Ibiza the same day.

Last night two young men both aged 18 years old jumped from their hotel balconies in Magaluf. However this time both escaped with minor injuries and have already been released from hospital.

This phenomenon which is not new has been nicknamed ‘balconing’ on the internet. In the Balearic Islands there have been on average 10 cases a year over the last five years and since 2008 at least seven tourists have died as a result of jumping from their hotel balconies.

The recent wave of cases has led to the Director of Tourism for the Balearic Islands, Joana Barceló, to defend the islands as a secure destination adding that it was impossible to look for just one cause. Security has also been increased in many hotels and apartment blocks by improving divisions between balconies. The director of a large hotel complex in Ibiza said that if our clients don’t follow the rules and behave responsibly they will be expelled.