Paralysed Cliff-Diver Clifford Portelli Calls For Safety Measures After Last Sunday’s Incident At St Peter’s Pool
Clifford Portelli, a man who was left paralyzed after cliff jumping, has spoken out in the hopes that the Malta Tourism Authority raises awareness of the dangers of such acts.
This comes after last Sunday’s shocking incident at St Peter’s Pool, where an Albanian man jumped from a dangerous height to cheers and claps.
The situation quickly turned sour after the man failed to rise back to the surface, as a medical team was called on site. Thankfully, he did not suffer serious injuries.
Portelli, who is now 45 years old, was left paralyzed after he suffered severe spinal injuries when he jumped into the sea at Żonqor point when he was just 16 years old.
“The Malta Tourism Authority should work on an awareness campaign about the dangers of cliff diving,” Clifford expressed while speaking to Times of Malta.
“Even if this campaign includes people like me, who can share their stories about how their lives changed overnight after jumping from a cliff.”
“The idea that you can lose your independence, and such a choice can lead to harsh life consequences, is not worth certain acts of carelessness,” continued Portelli, condemning such actions.
As a result of the incident, Clifford’s active lifestyle was completely taken away from him, as he had to even relearn the most basic actions.
Clifford continued to stress that much more awareness is needed on these types of situations, to discourage people from engaging in such dangerous acts.
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