A British toddler has died after falling from the fourth floor of a hotel in Cyprus while on holiday with his family. The incident reportedly took place on Sunday evening at a hotel near the seaside village of Chloraka, in the Paphos district of the island, where the family had recently arrived for a summer break. According to local reports, the toddler, who is believed to be about two years old, fell from the fourth-floor balcony.
Emergency services rushed the child to Paphos General Hospital after receiving reports of the incident shortly before 6.40pm, but doctors were unable to save him. The family had reportedly checked into the hotel on Saturday and were due to remain on the island until later this month. The couple have another five-year-old girl, who is also with them on the holiday.
He allegedly fell from an open corridor window into the main veranda of the hotel on the first floor, En Philenews reports.
After Cypriot police launched an investigation into the incident, they arrested the 37-year-old father.
As reported by the Cypriot Mail, he was arrested at 10.15pm on Sunday on suspicion of causing death by a reckless, negligent or dangerous act, neglect of duty as the head of a family, and failing in his responsibility as a person having care of another.
The father is due to appear before the Paphos district court on Monday morning, where police will request that he be remanded in custody to facilitate ongoing investigations.
A post-mortem examination is due to take place 12pm on Monday at the mortuary of Nicosia General Hospital and will be carried out by forensic pathologists Angeliki Papetta and Orthodoxos Orthodoxou.
Police are continuing their inquiries, with statements being taken from the child’s parents as well as other people who were at the hotel at the time.
The circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation and the scene remains cordoned off.
