British woman in critical condition after falling from sixth-floor hotel balcony in Benidorm

A British woman is in critical condition in hospital after falling from the sixth-floor of a hotel balcony in Benidorm, Spain. Her husband, who was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, has since been released from custody by a judge.

The incident took place at around midnight on Saturday (April 8) at Rio Park, a four-star hotel that is a part of the Medplaya chain. The 36-year-old woman is currently being treated at a nearby hospital in Villajoyosa, where her condition has been described as “critical”.

Sources close to the police investigation were unable to confirm whether the situation was being treated as an accident, attempted suicide or something crime-related.

The unnamed 40-year-old British husband was freed after appearing before a judge in a closed court hearing in Benidorm. He was released without any protective measures such as a ban on leaving the country, suggesting authorities are not treating him as a suspect.

A spokesperson for Spain’s National Police issued a statement earlier on in the case, which read: “Officers have arrested a British man on suspicion of attempted homicide after his wife, who is also British, plunged from the sixth-floor balcony of their hotel in Benidorm. The arrest is a preventative measure and it will be up to a judge to decide what happens next after the man appears before him in the next day or so.

"The couple were sharing the same room and we are talking about a foreigner who has no ties to Spain so we are under an obligation to make the arrest as we try to determine what happened."