Four-year-old dies after falling from fifth-floor balcony in Spanish resort; police call death accidental
Girl reportedly fell from an apartment balcony in Calpe on Sept. 7 and died days later; local officials declare three days of mourning
A four-year-old girl died after plunging from the fifth-floor balcony of an apartment block in the Spanish resort town of Calpe, near Alicante, police and local officials said.
The child fell at about 5 a.m. on Sept. 7 and was initially taken to a local health centre before being transferred in critical condition to the General Hospital of Alicante, where she died five days later. Investigators have concluded the death was accidental; local reports say the girl was a sleepwalker and climbed over the balcony railing before losing her balance and falling.
Police said neither parent was at the property when the incident occurred and that the child's 15-year-old sister had been left in charge of her and a one-year-old sibling. Investigators reported the child struck a car parked below before coming to rest on the ground. A court in nearby Denia had been coordinating the police inquiry.
The death emerged in local media reports on Sept. 16, coming a day after a separate fatal accident in Calpe in which a 20-day-old baby was killed when an apparently unattended car rolled down a steep hill. In that incident, local authorities believe a handbrake failure allowed the vehicle to move; the newborn's 37-year-old mother, who had been pushing a pram, was critically injured and remained in an intensive care unit, according to local reports. The accident occurred in front of the mother's husband and the couple's other four-year-old child.
Calpe Council announced an official period of mourning in response to both deaths. "After the recent deaths of a baby and a four-year-old girl in tragic accidents, we are declaring a period of official mourning as a show of our respect and condolences," a council spokesman said. "Three days of official mourning will take place from today. Flags will fly at half-mast from all municipal buildings."
Spanish authorities treating the balcony fall as an accidental tragedy did not immediately provide further details about the condition or location of the apartment's safety features or whether any criminal charges would be considered. Local courts and police continue to review the circumstances surrounding both incidents.
Balcony falls involving people who sleepwalk have appeared in previous news reports. In July 2020, a 47-year-old British holidaymaker, Coral Skipp, broke her back after reportedly sleepwalking from a third-floor hotel balcony in Ibiza. In 2015, a coroner in Swansea recorded an accidental death after finding that a 37-year-old woman, Emma Evans, who fell from a hotel balcony, had a history of sleepwalking.
Local officials have urged residents and visitors to exercise caution on steep streets and to ensure vehicles are secured on inclines, following the infant's death. Municipal authorities did not immediately release further comment on any safety measures to be taken regarding apartment balconies or parked vehicles, but the council's mourning declaration signaled the town's official response to the two recent tragedies.
Investigators in Denia and Calpe said inquiries remain open as they gather statements and examine the physical scene to confirm the full sequence of events leading to both accidents. No criminal charges have been publicly announced in either case as of the latest reports.