Teenage boy, 16, plunges 9m in accidental balcony fall on Orchid Ave at Surfers Paradise on Gold Coast

The friends of a critically injured teen who fell about nine metres from a resort balcony at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast dragged their mate back upstairs instead of seeking help.

THE friends of a critically injured teen who fell about nine metres from a resort balcony at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast dragged their mate back upstairs instead of seeking help.

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) paramedics, including Critical Care and the High Acuity Response Unit, were called to Orchid Ave about 12.45am on Thursday – about 45 minutes after the fall.

Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

They found the badly injured 16-year-old boy with an “altered level of consciousness” inside the resort after a resident phoned triple-0 for help, according to QAS Officer in Charge (Coolangatta) Justin Payne.

“It was reported the patient had been sitting on the balcony before falling backwards down two flights, approximately nine metres,” he said.

“Paramedics on scene identified a 16-year-old male unconscious in the hallway of the resort.

“When arriving on scene it was identified that the incident had occurred approximately 45 minutes before the ambulance was called.”

An “on-scene ultrasound” determined the boy had suffered significant internal injuries.

Mr Payne urged the public to phone triple-0 for help in an emergency, rather than taking matters into their own hands.

QAS Officer in Charge (Coolangatta) Justin Payne on the job. Picture: Richard Gosling

“The patient’s friends had thought the best option for them was to move that patient back upstairs to the apartment,” he said.

“Unfortunately from a paramedic’s point of view, the best course of action in that scenario would be to leave the patient on scene and call us immediately …

“The potential was that the moving of that patient might have caused further injuries.”

Mr Payne said it was reported the boy’s friends had been “consuming alcohol for most of the afternoon”.

“The friends on scene advised paramedics that at first they thought that the patient was not severely unwell,” he said.

“They thought that at the time he was still conscious and talking to them so they thought that they would just get him back upstairs so they could observe him and keep him safe.

“It was a third party at the scene who identified that the patient’s condition might be more significant and it was that third party who contacted triple-0.”

Mr Payne was not able to provide more information about the boy’s condition, but it’s understood he remained in a critical condition on Thursday afternoon.

QAS originally advised the boy fell about eight metres, but that was later revised.

An aerial photo of Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

Teen plunges metres in accidental balcony fall on Coast

A TEENAGE boy has been seriously injured in a horrific accidental balcony fall at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast.

Queensland Ambulance Service paramedics, including Critical Care and the High Acuity Response Unit, were called to Orchid Ave about 12.45am on Thursday.

They found a “male aged in his teens fell approximately eight metres from a balcony”, according to a statement.

Gold Coast police have confirmed the 16-year-old boy was sitting on the railing of the balcony when he slipped and fell.

The teenager was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition, suffering from suspected spinal injuries.

Little girl injured in nasty horse fall

September 11: A young girl has been injured after falling from a horse at a Gold Coast property.

The primary school-aged child was riding the animal at a private property in Worongary on Saturday when she fell about 3.45pm.

A Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said the girl sustained injuries to her arm.

She was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.

Skateboarder badly injured in Coast accident

September 9: A skateboarder has fallen from his board and suffered a serious head injury on the Gold Coast.

Queensland Ambulance Service, including critical care paramedics, were called to Precinct Dr at Miami about 8.10pm on Wednesday.

The man aged in his 20s fell from his skateboard on Precinct Dr at Miami on Wednesday night. File image. Picture: iStock.

The paramedics treated the skateboarder, a man aged in his 20s.

He was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a serious condition.

Rescuers cut two passengers free after hinterland rollover

September 7: Rescuers have used cutting gear to free two injured passengers from a crumpled wreck after a rollover crash in the hinterland, which allegedly involved an unlicensed drink driver.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Waterford Tamborine Rd at Tamborine about 9.55pm on Monday.

Waterford Tamborine Road. File image.

They found a car had rolled in the crash and two men had become trapped in the vehicle.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services used cutting gear to help free the occupants from the car. One crew was at the scene of the crash for about 90 minutes, a spokeswoman said.

It follows a serious crash involving two motorbikes on Waterford Tamborine Rd on Sunday, which resulted in the hospitalisation of a man aged in his 50s and a woman in her 60s.

In the latest incident, police said the “car failed to negotiate a bend causing the vehicle to spin and eventually roll”.

“The 20-year-old male driver and his two 20-year-old male passengers were all injured in the crash with the two passengers being transported to the Princess Alexandra Hospital for treatment to minor injuries,” a statement read.

“The driver was not transported to hospital.”

Queensland Ambulance Service stated paramedics took two men, both aged 20, to Princess Alexandra Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The driver, a man aged in his 20s, “declined transport to hospital”.

Police have charged a Burbank man, 20, with drive over general alcohol limit but not over the middle alcohol limit not holder of licence or learner probationary or provisional licence holder.

He has also been charged with drive without due care and attention.

The Burbank man was expected to face Beaudesert Magistrates Court on September 21.

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