Serious condition Irish tourist rushed to hospital after second-floor balcony fall in Santa Ponsa

An Irish tourist has been rushed to hospital after falling from a second-floor apartment in the Majorcan holiday resort of Santa Ponsa.

The 50-year-old was described as “serious” when paramedics drove him from the scene to Son Espases Hospital in the island capital Palma.

The incident occurred around 8.30pm on Tuesday.

Local police and Civil Guard were mobilised along with a medical response team after the unnamed man plunged from a second-floor balcony to the street below.

Sources said he was unconscious with head injuries when they arrived and smelt of alcohol. He was stabilised at the scene before being taken to hospital.

His condition on Wednesday was unknown.

An investigation is ongoing but police sources have said they believe he fell by accident after drinking during the day.

It was not immediately clear if the tourist will be hit with a fine if he recovers.

Fines have been levied for several years in Majorcan party resorts like Magaluf and Santa Ponsa for the practice known as balconing, which was originally coined to describe tourists jumping from their balconies into pools below but now covers things like balcony plunges by people trying to climb between apartments.

In August 2018 a British holidaymaker cheated death after plunging from a Magaluf sixth-floor balcony at the start of August while reportedly having a poo.

It later emerged he checked himself out of hospital - without waiting for doctors to give him the all-clear - before police could hand him his fine.

Local politicians and police have been reminding new arrivals about the tough rules in place to curb drunken tourism as the Balearic Islands gear up for their first bumper season following the easing of the coronavirus pandemic.

One is the six drinks rule meaning holidaymakers can only enjoy up to six alcoholic drinks a day in all-inclusive hotels in parts of the Balearic Islands including Magaluf.

The booze crackdown, which was already in place before the coronavirus pandemic, has only become an issue again with the return of foreign tourism to the popular sunshine islands.