By Laura Banks
An Australian couple have been seriously injured in Croatia after falling 10 metres from a wall in the coastal city of Dubrovnik in the early hours of Saturday morning, according to local media reports.
A 34-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were taken to Dubrovnik General Hospital, where the man has undergone surgery and the woman is in the intensive care unit in a critical condition.
Tourists outside the Pile Gate in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Credit: iStock
Dr Ivan Bencic, a trauma specialist in Dubrovnik General Hospital’s trauma unit, told Croatian media outlet HRT that the woman had suffered cerebral damage and multiple fractures in her vertebrae in the fall.
He said she had undergone three CT scans and had consultations with a neurosurgeon, but her condition remained critical.
“We are constantly monitoring her and doing everything we can to fight for her life,” he said.
“As far as the male is concerned he had a far better run than she did.”
Local media reported that the couple slipped and fell about 10 metres from a wall between two restaurants in the medieval town of Pile at about 2.25am Saturday local time. It is understood they did not climb the wall but fell when the woman leaned on her partner.
Andrijana Biskup, a spokeswoman for Dubrovnik-Neretva police, told local news station Dubrovacka Televizija that the couple had been cuddling or kissing when the fall occurred and that alcohol may have played a part in the accident.
She said the man had a blood alcohol reading of just over 0.2 and the woman’s BAC was 0.3.
The spokeswoman said the fall was being treated as an accident, and no criminal investigation was under way.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australia was providing consular assistance to two injured people in Croatia but would not provide any further information due to privacy concerns.
Local police in Dubrovnik-Neretva have been contacted for comment.
Pile is a tourist hotspot known for an ancient fort, Fort Lovrijenac, and was made famous after the popular television series Game of Thrones was filmed there. It is about three kilometres from Dubrovnik’s centre.
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