Backpacker lucky to be alive after plunging 10m off hostel balcony

A backpacker is lucky to be alive after he fell from his Gold Coast hostel balcony, dropping for 10m before a metal roof saved him.

A general view of Beach Road.

A backpacker is lucky to be alive after he fell from his hostel balcony, plunging 10m from the fifth floor.

The 28-year-old man was on the balcony just after 9pm last night when he fell over the side, avoiding the concrete on the ground and instead landing on a metal overhang on the second floor.

Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) Operations Supervisor Paul Young said the incident “could’ve been a different story” if the man had landed on the ground.

“He wasn’t seriously injured,” Mr Young said, adding that the metal roof had “cushioned his fall”.

“If he had fallen on the concrete below, it could’ve been a very different story.”

A general view of Beach Road in Surfers Paradise.

Multiple emergency service crews responded to the reports the man had fallen, with firefighters being called in to help get the man off the roof.

“The fire service was called mainly for manpower as we had to get over a 3m wall to get the patient out,” Mr Young said.

The man was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital with a possible fracture to his leg and a minor head injury.

While emergency services are still looking into how the horror fall occurred, Mr Young said there was “alcohol on-board” before the man fell.

“At this stage it’s unknown how he fell from the balcony, what actually happened,” he said.

Dozens of concerned bystanders called triple-0 after witnessing the fall, Mr Young added.

The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition, accompanied by the high acuity unit.

The man was taken to hospital in a stable condition. Picture: Brendan Radke