Two Australians are seriously injured in hospital fter falling from a popular Game of Thrones filming location in Croatia.
A 34-year-old man was rushed into emergency surgery, while a 26-year-old woman was placed in intensive care after the pair fell from a medieval clifftop fortress in Pile, Dubrovnik.
Used as a filming location for Game of Thrones, Fort Lovrijenac and the surrounding Pile Gate – first constructed in 1537 – is popular with tourists. Notably, the area was used to portray the fictitious Blackwater Bay, and featured in the second and third series.
Used as a filming location for Game of Thrones, Fort Lovrijenac and the surrounding Pile Gate is popular with tourist— (Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0/Donald Judge)
The couple were leaning against a wall in the early hours of Saturday morning before they lost their balance, falling five metres onto rocky terrain. The man remains in a serious condition, while the woman – reported as his partner by MailOnline – is in a critical condition.
“We are constantly monitoring her and doing everything we can to fight for her life”, Dr Ivan Benčić told Daily Mail Australia, adding that the woman had suffered head injuries and fractures to vertebrae in her back.
“As far as the male is concerned he had a far better run than she did”, Dr Benčić added.
According to reports in The Weekend Australian, the accident happened after one of the couple leant against the other, with Dubrovnik-Neretva police adding that they were drunk. The woman’s blood alcohol level reading was 0.3, whilst her partner’s rested at 0.21.
A blood alcohol level reading of 0.0 indicates sobriety, whilst levels over 0.08 per cent are considered impaired and those in excess of 0.40 per cent are dangerous or potentially fatal.
Andrijana Biskup, a spokeswoman for Dubrovnik-Neretva County police, told local news station Dubrovacka Televizija that the couple had been cuddling or kissing when the fall happened, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that consular assistance was being provided to the two Australians.
In March 2023, a British tourist was injured after he fell from Vietnam’s “Cliff of Death” whilst taking a selfie. The unnamed man’s leg was crushed in Xeo Sa Lung village in the Pai Lung commune as a boulder hit him whilst taking the photo, causing him to fall.
The Cliff of Death is located near the popular Pi Leng Pass, described by officials as a dangerous area with large, unstable boulders stacked on top of one another. The cliffs are often scaled by tourists despite a lack of safety rails and frequently slippery conditions.
