australian tourist injured in croatia

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Australian couple seriously hurt after Croatia fall

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Two Aussies On A Euro Trip Are In Hospital After Literally Falling Off A Cliff In Dubrovnik

Sweeney Preston

Per reporting by The Weekend Australian , a 34-year-old man has had to go through emergency surgery and remains in a serious condition in hospital.

A woman aged 26 remains in intensive care.

Their fall is believed to have occurred in the early hours of Saturday morning at around 2:30am.

According to the Daily Mail, they were leaning up against a wall before losing their footing and plunging five metres.

The local Dubrovnik-Neretva authorities have concluded that intoxication with alcohol was to blame for the incident.

The 26-year-old woman reportedly had a blood alcohol reading (BAC) of 0.3.

For reference, you are required to have a BAC lower than 0.05 to drive a car in Australia.

At 0.3, the woman’s level would’ve been approximately six times this, meaning she likely would have likely been highly impaired.

Blackouts are also known to occur at that level of intoxication.

The man’s BAC was reportedly 0.21.

The identities of the two Australians have not yet been made public.

The incident occurred near Fort Lovrijenac, often nicknamed “Dubrovnik’s Gibraltar”.

The fort, perched 37 metres above sea level, became famous after it was used as a filming location in Game of Thrones .

Fans of the series would recognise the spot as the Red Keep in King’s Landing in the second and third seasons of the show.

We wish both of these fellow citizens a speedy recovery and hope they can continue their Euro trip from where they left off!

It genuinely does feel like so many of our mates are in Europe right now. Either that or Bali, let’s be honest.

If you’re keen for some touch-grass content, this piece about why a Euro trip can actually fucking suck when you’re a person of colour, might pique your interest.

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A woman is fighting for her life after she and her partner fell 33 feet from a medieval wall in Croatia featured on 'Game of Thrones'

• An Australian couple fell 33 feet from a medieval wall in Dubrovnik while intoxicated, police said.
• The wall and surrounding area are featured in HBO's "Game of Thrones."
• The woman has life-threatening injuries, which include brain damage, a doctor told local media.

An Australian woman is fighting for her life after she and her partner fell around 33 feet from a medieval wall in the Croatian city of Dubrovnik early on Saturday morning, according to reports.

The couple slipped and fell from a wall between two restaurants in Pile, a neighborhood in Dubrovnik's Old Town, at around 2.35 a.m. on Saturday, Croatian media outlets reported.

The area, which is near the city center, is featured in numerous scenes in seasons two and three of HBO's "Game of Thrones."

The couple fell when the woman, who is 26, leaned against her partner, who is 34, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The incident appears to have been accidental, with no indication that anything criminal took place, Andrijana Biskup, Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department spokesperson, said in a statement to the local news outlet Dubrovacka Televizija.

Breathalyzer tests revealed that the couple was under the influence of alcohol, Biskup said, according to the news outlet.

Biskup said that the man had a blood alcohol reading of just over 0.2, while the woman's was 0.3. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic , at these levels, a person may experience confusion, vomiting, drowsiness, or even alcohol poisoning if over 0.3%.

The woman was put in a coma

The couple was taken to General Hospital Dubrovnik, which is in the area. The hospital's director Dr. Marija Bekić told the local media outlet Dubrovacki Vjesnik that the young woman is in an intensive care unit in an induced coma.

She is in a life-threatening condition, Bekić added, per the outlet.

Dr. Ivan Benčić, a trauma specialist at the hospital, said the woman had spinal and brain damage, as well as vertebral fractures, according to the Croatian broadcaster HRT.

"We are constantly monitoring her and doing everything we can to fight for her life," he said, according to a translation by The Herald. "As far as the male is concerned he had a far better run than she did."

The man had surgery on a broken leg but is in a stable condition, Bekić said, per Dubrovacki Vjesnik.

Dubrovnik-Neretva Police Department did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

In a statement provided to Insider, a spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it is providing consular assistance to the two Australians.

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WA police officer critically injured in Croatian cliff fall faces a ‘long road’ to recovery

Close friend and colleague has revealed Ella Cutler, who fell 10 metres from Dubrovnik clifftop, is out of ICU but still faces ‘many surgeries’

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A friend and colleague of the young WA police officer left fighting for her life in a Croatian hospital after a cliff fall says she has a long road to recovery but is “doing amazing”.

Ella Cutler, 26, suffered severe injuries when she fell 10m from a clifftop while on holiday in Dubrovnik, Croatia in late August, and was put into the local hospital’s intensive care unit.

Doctors initially informed her family that Cutler was unlikely to survive.

Constable Dani Morrison, who became close friends with Cutler when she first joined the police, said on Sunday Cutler has “a long road” to recovery but has “fought really hard”.

“She’s no longer in the ICU. She has been moved to another ward, where she’s still in critical condition. She has many surgeries to undergo. She’s got a lot of broken bones,” Morrison said.

“She’s got a long way to go but she’s doing amazing.”

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Though Cutler had travel insurance, her injury claim was denied after local police determined she had been drinking at the time of the fall.

Cutler’s brother, Joshua, helped initially organised a GoFundMe campaign to help cover his sister’s medical bills and the $400,000 required to fly her home.

“The doctors who have looked after her since her admission to the hospital in Dubrovnik have been amazing, and we cannot thank them enough for their hard work keeping her alive,” a statement on the campaign page said.

“They have conveyed the importance of moving her to a bigger hospital with better facilities where she can receive specialised care vital for further recovery.”

The campaign was given a boost by the Western Australian police which shared a video to social media paying tribute to Cutler with the aim of raising $500,000.

As of Sunday afternoon the campaign had raised $504,011 from more than 6,400 donors, including people from around Australia and overseas.

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Morrison offered a “heartfelt thank you” to those who contributed from both the Western Australia police and Cutler’s mother.

Morrison described Cutler as “selfless”, “the most compassionate, empathetic, caring person” and a “beautiful soul” whose injuries had shocked the close-knit Western Australian law enforcement community.

She said the money will be used to arrange transport home “as soon as possible” after a survey next week.

“[Ella] will be so moved,” Morrison said. “I think she’ll be highly embarrassed. She’s not one for the public spotlight, she’s doesn’t ask for help. She’s so independent and resourceful herself.

“So she will be firstly horrified, but secondly, she’ll be for ever thankful for the support.”

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Australian woman remains in coma after fall in Croatia

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An Australian woman continues to fight for her life in a Croatian hospital, while her partner recovers from less severe injuries, after the pair fell 10 metres from a wall in the coastal city of Dubrovnik early on Saturday.

Dubrovnik General Hospital director Marijo Bekic has told a local news website Dubrovacki dnevnik the condition of the two travellers was unchanged since Sunday.

City wall and Pile Gate with Lovrijenac Fortress in background in Dubrovnik. Credit: Wikicommons/dronepicr

“The female is in an induced coma and is stable given her difficult state, but her life is still in danger,” Bekic said.

“The male, who has undergone a shin operation, is generally in a good condition and stable.”

The woman is undergoing treatment in the hospital’s intensive care unit, while the man is being cared for in the orthopaedic wing. Australian and local authorities are yet to release the identities of the couple.

Local media reported the couple slipped and fell about 10 metres from a wall between exclusive restaurants Dubravka and Nautika in the medieval Pile area of Dubrovnik near the Old City gates about 2.25am Saturday local time.

Local media reported the pair did not climb the wall but fell when the woman leaned on her partner. Police have ruled the fall an accident.

On Sunday, trauma specialist Dr Ivan Bencic said the woman had suffered skull and brain injuries as well as broken chest and lumbar vertebrae.

Andrijana Biskup, a spokeswoman for Dubrovnik-Neretva County police, told local news station Dubrovacka televizija at the weekend the man, 34, and woman, 26, had been cuddling or kissing when the fall occurred.

She said the man had a blood alcohol reading of just over 0.2 and the woman’s BAC was 0.3 when they fell.

The wall where the incident occurred is near the entrance to Dubrovnik’s Old Town, also known as Pile Gate. The area also contains a number of restaurants popular with tourists to the medieval city.

Restaurant owners contacted by this masthead on Monday said they knew only what they had read in local media about the accident and referred all inquiries to police.

Dubrovnik Police were contacted for comment.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said consular assistance was being provided to the two injured Australians.

“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” she said.

Consular assistance offered to travellers abroad can include liaison with or visits to local hospitals, local authorities, and assistance communicating with family members or contacts.

Consular staff cannot provide medical services or medications, pay for medical costs or query treatment on behalf of Australians overseas.

Hospital nursing staff contacted by this masthead on Monday confirmed the two Australians were being treated but said they were unable to disclose further details due to privacy rules.

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Australian tourist Tania Hearnden wakes from coma after horror cliff fall

TANIA Hearnden's first question after a 14m cliff fall was whether she could still have a baby.

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TANIA Hearnden's first thought after suffering terrible injuries in a 14m cliff fall in Croatia was whether she could have a baby.

The 24-year-old Melburnian sustained broken arms, broken ribs, a broken hip, and lost one kidney and her spleen after falling off the 14m cliff. But Ms Hearnden’s sister, Belinda Fox, this morning told radio station 3AW that Tania had woken up from an induced coma and was doing well considering. "She’s woken up, that’s a positive sign,” Ms Fox said.

“She’s got all her senses. So first thing she was asking her husband, was ‘Was she a vegetable?’, ‘Will she be able to have kids?’, ‘Is her face and teeth fixable?’.

“So she’s asking all the right things for someone that’s been in her situation. So that’s a positive thing for us back home.” Ms Hearnden, on a five-month "trip of a lifetime" in Europe with her husband, Gareth, was getting ready to jump off the cliff near Dubrovnik on Monday when she had second thoughts.

But as she turned to walk away, she slipped and fell.

"I felt like my heart had been ripped out," Tania's mother, Ms Todd, said.

"Her face was smashed up and they've done work on her jaw - she's in a bad way, but she's stable at the moment," she told Fairfax radio.

Ms Todd and several other family members left Melbourne on a flight bound for Europe last night to be by her side.

The family hope Ms Hearnden will be moved to a better-equipped hospital for reconstructive surgery. An Australian insurance company acting on behalf of the family have asked the hospital to transfer her to Milan, in Italy, where they have found experts for facial operations.

"She needs reconstructive surgery on her face, so that's the best place for her," Ms Todd said. Ms Hearnden is expected to be in hospital for weeks. Earlier, Ms Todd said her son was trying to get the money together to fly to be with his sister, who is in intensive care.

"My son is trying to get over there today, trying to get the funds together so he can get a flight today," Ms Todd said.

Husband 'watched in horror'

Ms Todd said her son-in-law had watched in horror as his wife slipped and plunged from the top of the popular diving location on Dubrovnik's historic city walls, landing on rocks in shallow water.

"They were cliff jumping and Tania decided that she didn't want to do it and she turned away, slipped and fell," Ms Todd said.

She also praised Gareth.

"He's the best son-in-law and I love him dearly," she said. "He feels so bad, but he couldn't have prevented it." Local hero A local fisherman who saw the fall has been praised by Croatian authorities for helping in the rescue.

Dominko Radic was on his boat in the Dubrovnik port and rushed to help.

"I've found the seriously injured girl laying by the sea," he told Croatian media.

"It was scary to look at her jaw broken apart." Help on the way Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Australian officials first learned of Ms Hearnden's accident on Monday night and had been in contact with the hospital where she is being treated.

"Our understanding is that she has received some very serious bodily injuries," Mr Smith said yesterday.

"She is being operated on in Croatia.

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"My advice is that she will be in hospital for a number of days, if not weeks."

Mr Smith did not comment on whether any financial help might be available to Ms Hearnden's family, but said they would receive consular assistance.

"We are sending an official to Dubrovnik to render assistance on the ground - to the injured woman and to her husband. "And, of course, early this morning our officials were in contact with the family and continue to be in contact with the family." - With AAP and the Herald-Sun

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