A man in his 20s is lucky to be alive, after falling about 10 metres from a Gold Coast hotel balcony overnight.
Paramedics were called to the Surfers Paradise backpackers' hotel just after 9pm after reports the man had fallen from a fifth-storey balcony onto a second-storey roof.
The man suffered head injuries and a fractured leg, but was transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
The Queensland Ambulance Service's Paul Young said the 28-year-old was lucky to have landed on a "metal overhang roof, which cushioned his fall" from direct concrete.
"Otherwise it could have been a different story," he said.
Mr Young said it remained unclear exactly how or why the man fell.
He said rescuers had to get over a three-metre wall to get the man out because of the nature of the apartment complex.
"We were led to believe he had alcohol on board and he was near a balcony," he said.
"There were a lot of bystanders there. I believe it's a backpackers' hotel . QAS received a lot fo triple 0 calls."
The man is recovering in hospital.
A 16-year-old fell nine metres from the St Tropez Apartments last September and was taken to hospital in a critical condition, having spent the night at the apartment with friends.
And in 2020, a Brisbane teenager died after falling four storeys from a Surfers Paradise apartment balcony.