A man left paralysed after a cliff jump went wrong has called for the Malta Tourism Authority to raise awareness of the dangers of leaping into the water from a height following the latest shocking daredevil jump.

Clifford Portelli was speaking after a 38-year-old Albanian man was injured and had to be treated in hospital when he plummeted into the water from a cliff at St Peter’s Pool in Delimara, Marsaxlokk.

Footage of the incident, which took place on Sunday at 6.45pm, shows how other bathers had to swim out to rescue the man after the dive. His condition is still unknown.

The incident brought back harrowing memories for Portelli, who suffered severe spinal injuries when he jumped into the sea a day after his 16th birthday at Żonqor Point in Marsascala on September 24, 1994.

“Malta Tourism Authority should work on an awareness campaign on the dangers of cliff diving,” he said.

“Even if this campaign includes people like me, who can tell their stories about how their lives changed overnight after jumping from a cliff.”

Portelli remembers jumping from the cliff to test out a new waterproof Swatch watch he was given as a birthday present. Despite having jumped from the same spot for three years, this time he hit his head on the rocks.

The dive split his head open, broke his neck and damaged his spinal cord, leaving him paralysed.

“A spinal injury stops your life, you lose all your independence,” he said.

He went from being an active teenager, who enjoyed skateboarding and breakdancing, to relearning basic tasks.

The idea that you can lose your independency and such a jump can lead to harsh life consequences is not worth certain acts of carelessness.- Clifford Portelli

After two months in a coma at St Luke’s Hospital Intensive Therapy Unit, he spent six months at Boffa Hospital and then travelled to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the UK for intensive treatment. After eight months there, he returned to Malta and was readmitted to Boffa Hospital for another year-and-a-half.

“I understand that as islanders, we grow up enjoying the sea and jumping from cliffs, but we need to raise more awareness of the dangers and consequences when a jump goes wrong,” Portelli said.

“People need to think twice before doing such dangerous jumps. The idea that you can lose your independency and such a jump can lead to harsh life consequences is not worth certain acts of carelessness.”

After years of physiotherapy sessions and regaining strength in his upper body, the 45-year-old activist does his best to live a normal life.

“You spend months, years, relearning how to cope, changing and adapting your life, your home to fit your needs,” he said.

“Relearning the basic tasks you take for granted, like cooking, feeding yourself, showering and dressing. You also have to see if your employer keeps you, and if so how can they adapt your work set-up.

Portelli went from being an active teenager, who enjoyed skateboarding and breakdancing, to relearning basic tasks. He is now the IT service manager at the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability. Photo: Clifford Portelli

“Your relationship with your friends and loved ones also changes.”

The IT service manager at the Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability has gained his licence for a wheelchair-accessible vehicle and when possible also travels abroad.

He said that it is “not enough” that an article is published once someone is hurt.

“We need to raise awareness constantly,” he said, adding that barriers and signs warning against jumping are not enough.

He suggested people be hired to watch the bay and keep an eye out on people trying to jump.

“When you have adrenaline pumping through your veins, you don’t take notice of these warnings,” he said, adding that there should be harsh penalties for those caught jumping, even suggesting imprisonment.

“Policymakers need to take on the responsibility to bring about more awareness.”

When asked if MTA will set up an awareness campaign on the dangers of cliff diving following Sunday’s incident, a spokesperson said St Peter’s Pool is not a bay managed by the authority. However, the authority said it will be discussing the matter with the competent authorities.