Brit university student killed after plunging from Spanish flat balcony 'following St Patrick's Day party'
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A British university student was killed after he fell from a fourth-floor balcony at a flat in Spain following a St Patrick's Day party with friends, police say.
James Walton is thought to have died instantly after he plunged head-first onto a pavement below an apartment block in Palma, Majorca, in the early hours on Sunday.
The 23-year-old was a languages student at Sheffield Hallam University who was on a placement year on the Spanish island at the time of his death.
Friends began to pay tribute to James on social media hours after the tragedy, with one pal posting videos of him dancing at nightspots.
Londoner James had been in Palma since last September and was working as a global loyalty intern at Melia Hotels International.
He was in his third year of a BA (Honours) degree in languages with international business in Spanish.
(Image: SOLARPIX.COM)
Police believe James, who spoke German as well as Spanish, lost his balance after a drunken St Patrick’s Day party with friends he was working with at the hotel chain and others visiting from the UK.
A post-mortem due to take place today was expected to confirm he had been drinking heavily before the tragedy and that alcohol may have played a part in what happened.
The results of the post-mortem will not be made public, as is normal in Spain.
A passer-by alerted the emergency services just after 6am yesterday after discovering James lying on the pavement in a street in the centre of Palma called Calle Aragon, near the city’s famous El Corte Ingles department store.
Efforts by paramedics to revive him failed and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
It emerged yesterday - before his name came out - that his friends were unaware he had fallen until police knocked on their door to inform them.
They have been questioned as part of a routine inquiry led by an investigating judge in Palma but confirmed they had been drinking and did not see their friend fall.
A well-placed source said: “They had been partying in the flat and there were bottles of alcohol lying around.
“It was St Patrick’s Day on Saturday and they had been celebrating.
“The friends confirmed the dead man’s identity after being informed about what had happened.
“Two of the men inside the apartment were living there and another two were visiting.
“They weren’t aware of what had happened till police knocked on their door.”
(Image: SOLARPIX.COM)
James, who grew in Ealing, west London, and was educated at Twyford Church of England School in nearby Acton, had started at Sheffield Hallam University in 2015 and was due to graduate next year.
Friend and colleague Maja Jaroszewska, also currently based at the same hotel group James was an intern at, posted a series of heart emojis on her Facebook alongside a link to a news report about the tragedy.
She added later in the day, alongside a series of video posts of James showing off his dance moves and a picture of a photo of him pinned to a tree above flowers left at the spot where he died: “Our amazing James.
“Words can’t describe how heartbroken we feel to have lost you so soon and so unexpected.
“You are forever in our hearts. We will remember you, doing your amazing dance moves and winning dance offs with strangers.
“Thank you for being in my life.”
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police confirmed ahead of the post-mortem there was nothing to indicate the man’s death was the result of a crime.
She said: “At this point in time everything is pointing towards it being accidental.”
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We are in touch with local police and are providing bereavement advice to his family, following the death of a British man in Majorca.”
A Sheffield Hallam University spokesperson said: "We are extremely saddened to hear that one of our students has tragically died whilst on placement in Spain.
"We are offering support to the student’s family and friends as well as to our staff and students at the University and our deepest sympathies go out to them at this extremely sad and difficult time.
“We are continuing to liaise with the authorities to ascertain the circumstances surrounding this terrible incident.”
A spokeswoman for Melia Hotels International said James’ colleagues and bosses had held a minute’s silence this morning.
She said today: “We are deeply affected by the death of our colleague James in a tragic accident.
“All we can say is that during his months at this company he has been a great worker and companion, considerate, responsible and talented.
“His colleagues and managers have held a minute’s silence this morning in his memory.”