British backpacker in critical condition after Rome hostel plunge
A British backpacker was in intensive care today with severe injuries to his head, spine, ribs and shoulder after falling 50 feet from the window of a youth hostel in Rome.
Student Sam Cummins, 22, may have been lying in the street for some time before he was found in the early hours of yesterday by passers-by.
He was sharing a third-floor room in the M&J hostel with seven other men. Before he was discovered police were called after an argument broke out between several guests there. It was not clear if he was involved. Officers were today interviewing the men again.
His mother Fiona was due to arrive in Rome. A British Embassy spokeswoman said they had not been allowed to see him by doctors at the Umberto 1 hospital "because he was in such a bad way." A spokesman at the hospital said he was being treated for "multiple broken bones" and confirmed he had been drinking.
Mr Cummins, from Sidmouth in Devon, plays for Sidmouth Rugby Club where he was described as a "very popular character".
Club chairman Terry O'Brien said: "Its a terrible shock to hear this has happened to Sam. He's just a regular 22-year-old who enjoys a drink and a laugh." His father Tim died of lung disease two years ago.
A Rome police spokesman said Mr Cummins had been out with several guests at the hostel and had returned in the early hours.
He added: "It appears he may have upset some of the other guests because he was drunk and had tried to go to sleep on a bed that was not his own but at this point we are still trying to establish what happened.
"We have spoken to the people who were in the room with him and we are speaking with them again to try and establish exactly what happened. It seems they had been drinking and they all fell asleep and the first they knew of what had happened was when officers banged on the door with the owner."
The M&J Hostel is close to the city's main railway station, Termini, and offers low-budget accommodation with rooms starting at £8.25 a night.
Its owner said: "I feel so sorry for the student. We are a hostel and so we get a lot of students staying. Nothing like this has ever happened before.
"He must have been out there for a while as that time of the morning not many people pass by. I hope he is going to be okay I feel so sorry for him and his family."
