Balcony railing collapse kills Brit and injures another in Lanzarote

A 56-year-old British tourist died and a 54-year-old fellow holidaymaker was left in critical condition early Saturday after a hotel balcony railing collapsed in the Costa Teguise resort on the Spanish island of Lanzarote, officials said. Emergency services were called at about 1.30 a.m. and found the two men had fallen roughly 20 feet from an elevated section of the hotel complex, local authorities reported.

Health teams at the scene pronounced the 56-year-old dead. The other man was stabilized and taken to the intensive care unit at Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital in Arrecife, where he remained in critical condition. Members of the Canary Islands Emergency Service, local police and the Spanish Civil Guard attended the incident, authorities said.

The Civil Guard has opened an inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the collapse of the railing and to assess whether there was negligence in the maintenance of the structure or in hotel safety measures. Investigators are expected to examine maintenance records, structural installations and any available surveillance footage as part of the probe. The name of the hotel and the identities of the men have not been released...