A British man died and a second was seriously injured when they plunged up to 40ft while taking a selfie at a beauty spot on Spain's Costa Blanca, a witness says.
The pair, aged in their 20s, were with a third British man who escaped unharmed when the tragedy unfolded at about 7.30pm on Wednesday at Punta Prima Beach, near the town of Torrevieja.
Simon Davenport, who arrived at the scene as paramedics battled to save one of the men, told Mirror Online the Brits were taking a selfie when they fell over a security barrier and plunged to the concrete below.
The 32-year-old teacher said: "There were some older local ladies there when these blokes had tried to take some photos. They said [the men] were trying to take selfies."
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Mr Davenport added: "They had fallen off the balcony even though there is a big handrail there.
"When I was there one of them was being resuscitated and there were lots and lots of medics there.
"One of them had died at the scene.
"They brought the other guy up and put him in an air ambulance about an hour later.
"A translator came down for the third guy and he was taken away by police."
The third Brit was distraught and suffering a panic attack, according to a Civil Guard source.
Mr Davenport, who lives and works in the area, said the women who witnessed the incident told onlookers that the men fell while trying to take a selfie.
The spot where the men fell is near a set of steps and a lift leading to Punta Prima beach, and close to a lifeguard hut.
The area is popular with British and Russian tourists and expats, and the incident happened close to a busy beach bar and restaurant.
Civil Guard sources told local media the men were British and had apparently been trying to take a photo or selfie at the time.
The injured man was airlifted to Alicante Hospital.
He is said to have suffered very serious injuries.
Paramedics and police who rushed to the scene after the alarm was raised could do nothing to save the dead man.
An autopsy will take place later Thursday at Alicante’s Institute of Forensic Medicine.
A Civil Guard source said: “The local British consulate has been informed.
“One of the men died at the scene and another was taken to hospital by helicopter.
"He is in Alicante Hospital where he has been sedated.
“The third man was physically unharmed but suffered a panic attack and was taken to Torrevieja Hospital.
“The alarm was raised around 7.30pm on Wednesday evening.
“It appears the men were taking a photo.
"The initial reports were that they had fallen from a height of around 40ft.
“It is too early at this stage to speculate on exactly what happened and the police investigation into the cause is still in its infancy.”
Another source added: “Officers will be speaking to the man taken to Torrevieja Hospital as soon as possible to try to build up a better picture of what occurred.”
Punta Prima is the headland marking the border between the municipalities of Orihuela and Torrevieja.
Its beach won the prestigious Ecoplaya award in 2010.
A number of British tourists have died in Spain in recent weeks.
Wednesday's tragedy occurred less than three days after Luke Freeman, 19, from Reading, Berks, in the Costa Brava resort of Lloret de Mar.
On Monday, Ben Lloyd, 33, from Southend, Essex, at Benalmadena in the Costa del Sol.
Nearly 19 million British nationals visited Spain last year, the Foreign Office said.
