Two young Brits fell to their death at Punta Prima last week while allegedly taking a selfie photograph. The pair crossed over the safety barrier guarding the cliff edge when one is said to have lost his footing, grabbing at the other as he fell. Daniel Vivian Mee, 25, died instantly while his friend Jayden Dolman, 20, died on Thursday morning having been airlifted to Alicante General Hospital.
Related: Second Briton dies after Punta Prima cliff face fall
A third man, named locally as 24-year-old Lewis Higgins, was physically unharmed but was taken to Torrevieja Hospital after suffering from shock.
He is said to have been on the right side of the railings when the tragedy occurred.
All three men are thought to have been on holiday from Bridgwater, Somerset.
Eyewitnesses reported that the young men were walking along the promenade, that links Punta Prima with Cabo Roig, taking photos and selfies along the way.
Thy stopped to get a “cover” photo with spectacular views of the sea when two of them climbed over the safety railing, an imprudence that cost them their lives.
Police are working on the theory one of the men lost his balance and tried to cling on to his pal’s arm in an instinctive life-saving reaction – but instead of recovering his footing unintentionally ended up pulling his friend with him as both then fell from a height of about 7 meters with fatal consequences.
The incident occurred at 7.30 pm on Wednesday evening.
Local police, Civil Guard and units of the Urgent Medical Assistance Service (SAMU) attended the scene, with the paramedics only able to certify the death of Daniel Vivian Mee after he failed to respond to resuscitation procedures.
An eyewitness from Northern Ireland, who lives in the area, said she saw the third man on the promenade in a “terrible, state.” She said he was “in hysterics,” begging her to help him, and to tell him his two friends were OK.
Investigators have since interviewed him and other witnesses as part of their investigation into the accident.
A spokesman for the British Consulate in Alicante said: “We are supporting the families of two British men following their deaths in Alicante, and are in contact with the Spanish authorities, and we are also providing assistance to a third British man who was involved in the accident.”
As people take bigger and bigger risks for the perfect selfie, the smartphone snaps have become five times more deadly than shark attacks.
According to the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, between October 2011 and November 2017, at least 259 people died taking selfies around the globe, compared to just 50 people killed by sharks in the same period.
It says that while women take the most selfies, young men, who are more prone to take risks, make up three quarters of the selfie deaths – in drownings, crashes, falls or shooting accidents.
Photo: Paramedics and lifeguards move Dolman to the helicopter – Image Ambumar Sya
