Two British tourists on vacation in Spain died after falling off a balcony while posing for a “selfie” on July 3, according to multiple reports.
Daniel Vivian Mee, 25, and Jayden Dolman, 20, were posing for a photo in Punta Prima on the Costa Blanca coast when they fell between 30 to 40 feet from a balcony and landed on the roof of a lifeguard post, the Local Spain reported.
Mee died at the scene while Dolman was taken via airlift to a local hospital with serious injuries. He was placed in the intensive care unit but died the next day on July 4, according to the news outlet.
Witness Simon Davenport arrived at the scene as the paramedics tried to save Mee, and said that the two men fell over a security barrier.
“There were some older local ladies there when these blokes had tried to take some photos. They said [the men] were trying to take selfies,” the 32-year-old teacher said, according to Mirror Online.
The local British Consulate confirmed the deaths of the Mee and Dolman, who were both from Somerset, South West England.
“We are supporting the families of two British men following their deaths in Alicante, and are in contact with the Spanish authorities. Another British man was involved in the accident, and we are also providing assistance,” the spokesperson for the Foreign Office said in statement obtained by ITV.
The third person, Lewis Higgins, was a friend of the two young men and witnessed the fall. Higgins, 24, was in so much shock that he suffered a panic attack and was taken to Torrevieja Hospital, the news outlet reported.
Police suspect the men fell when they were trying to take a “selfie,” according to witnesses, but said that it’s too early in the investigation to determine what exactly caused the fall.
“It is too early to speculate on exactly what happened, we are at the beginning stages of the investigation,” the police sources said, according to The Local Spain citing Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.
“Officers will be speaking to the man taken to Torrevieja Hospital as soon as possible to try to build up a better picture of what occurred,” police said.
Student Falls Off Tower Trying to Take Selfie
The university senior who accidentally plummeted down from the campus bell tower has passed away from her injuries.
Relatives of the Fordham University student, Sydney Monfries, said they were still trying to make sense of what happened, according to multiple reports. A friend of the family told New York Post that they were absolutely devastated by Monfries’s death.
“Her parents and sister are heartbroken to say the least,” Monfries’s father’s college friend, David Barfield said.
According to the New York Post, the 22-year-old university senior and a few friends went into the Keating Hall tower—an off-limits area on the university’s Bronx campus. CNN reported that it had become a rite of passage for graduating seniors to climb the tower and take pictures.
University officials were investigating how the students got access to the tower, which is normally locked. The university claimed the tower is always locked, CNN reported, and only authorized staff can access the tower.
However, one of the seniors told the New York Post that the doors weren’t always locked, and “they’re unlocked at night when they’re cleaning. They are always doing some kind of cleaning or renovation.”
The news outlet reported that Monfries fell 40 feet when she tripped on some debris inside the tower, and landed on her head, leaving her in critical condition. She was rushed to the St. Barnabas Hospital, where she later died.
According to the university, the students who were with Monfries on April 14 will not receive disciplinary actions.
