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British Tourist Dies After Falling In Amsterdam Canal While Urinating

British Tourist Dies After Falling In Amsterdam Canal While Urinating

A 21-year-old British man has died after falling into a canal in Amsterdam while urinating, according to authorities in the Netherlands

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

A tourist from the UK has died in Amsterdam after falling into a canal while urinating.

Dutch police said that the man fell into the water after losing his balance while intoxicated. A member of the public saw the incident and attempted to save the man, but was unable to get him out of the canal.

Police, fire and ambulances were called to the scene and, eventually, a diving unit was able to remove the man from the water. He was brought back to consciousness, but despite the best efforts of emergency services, he could not be saved and died shortly after arriving at hospital.

CEN

The man was later found to be a 21-year-old, who was not named due to Dutch privacy laws.

As a result of the incident, the Amsterdam Public Health (GGD) service issued a warning about the dangers of being drunk around the city's many canals.

According to the GGD, around 200 people die each year in Holland as a result of drowning, of which 20 are in Amsterdam. The majority of those who die are tourists who fall into the water while drunk.

GGD forensics expert Guido Reijnen said that most of the drunk people that fall into the canals in Amsterdam fall because they lose their balance and then are too intoxicated to get out of the water.

A secondary factor is the phenomenon of micturition syncope, a rare incidence where people faint after or during urination.

It occurs when drunk people are urinating and the flow of blood to the brain is lessened by an expansion of blood vessels. This then leads to a lack of blood in the brain and subsequent fainting.

CEN


"We found them with their pants still open," says Selma Eikelenboom-Schieveld, a forensic doctor. She also claimed that the majority of pathologists in Amsterdam have attended incidents in which a drunken tourist had fallen into the canal.

Amsterdam has more than 100km of canals, with 1,500 bridges and 90 islands. It is a centre for British and international party tourists, especially stag parties, who often drink to excess and indulge in the liberal drug laws of the Netherlands.

Featured Image Credit: CEN

Topics: Police, UK News, News