Man injured in fall

A NIGHT out turned horribly wrong for a young man who was left in a critical condition after plummeting six metres at a popular Townsville nightclub.

The 18-year-old was enjoying a night on the town with his mates when things took a sudden turn at Mad Cow in Flinders Street. The man plunged from the top level and landed head first on the ground.

Paramedics arrived at the nightclub about 3am before transporting the young man to Townsville University Hospital in a critical condition with head injuries.

Townsville police district duty officer Senior Sergeant Matt Lyons said staff at the Mad Cow were attempting to escort the 18-year-old from the upper level of the precinct.

“While being escorted out it appears he has sat on a railing at the top of internal stairs and fallen a distance six to eight metres to the ground,” Snr Sgt Lyons said.

“He failed to regain consciousness and was transported to hospital in a critical condition. As a result of the fall he suffered a series of head and neck injuries and they’ll (medical staff) have to perform a number of assessments before we’ll know the full outcome.”

A Townsville University Hospital spokesman said the man was in a stable condition yesterday afternoon.

Mad Cow owner Mark Napier said his team had the young man in their thoughts and hoped to see him recover.

“The accident appeared to be an error of judgment as the group (his friends) was exiting the premises at the time of closing the upstairs area,” Mr Napier said.

“We are unsure as to why

the male proceeded to sit on the balustrade in which he then lost balance and subsequently fell.”

Snr Sgt Lyons said no charges were being pursued in response to the accident.

“Police will be speaking with our other enforcement units to see if any further follow up (but) at this stage there’s no criminal offences that have been committed by anyone,” Snr Sgt Lyons said.

“Particularly in this instance it appears the male has had too much to drink and has been escorted from the venue.”