A 23 year old British man, David Briffaut, has suffered catastrophic injuries on a waterslide at the Aqualandia Water Park in Benidorm resulting in the severing of his spinal cord.
David, a greenkeeper from Essex, was on holiday in Javea with his girlfriend Penny Bristow and another young couple of friends and just a couple of days before returning home the foursome travelled down the coast to Benidorm where they planned to spend the day in the Aqualandia Water Park.
The circumstances surrounding the accident are unclear although the Park authorities claim to have video footage which shows Mr Briffaut didn’t follow the guidelines for the ride “Splash,” so it is ‘simply false’ for some of the British press to suggest the ride is unsafe.
A spokesman said that before opening the park each season, an external company makes an exhaustive review of all the slides, in addition to which park staff also check them every morning.
He added “Aqualandia has a long, 34-year history and safety is out top priority. Our rules and recommendations are clearly displayed across all the park and must be adhered to by our visitors.”
Meanwhile David is currently on life support in hospital in Alicante where he is expected to undergo further surgery, and once he is considered stable enough arrangements will be made to fly him home to the UK by Air Ambulance.
David’s mother Lorraine said: “We are living in every parents’ nightmare. Our son went on holiday with his girlfriend and we have been told he might never walk again. All we can do now is pray that he can recover. He is getting excellent care, but we would like to bring him home as soon as possible.”
Image Credit: Aqualandia Waterpark
