Young Victim of 'Mataleón' in Alicante Leaves ICU but Remains in Critical Condition

There is a slight improvement in the health condition of the young man who was urgently admitted to the General Hospital of Alicante last Friday after participating in a dangerous viral challenge. According to health sources confirmed to this newspaper, the minor has now left the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he had been since his admission. After leaving the ICU, he has been transferred to a ward, although he remains in critical condition.

It should be recalled that the events occurred during the afternoon of last Friday at San Juan Beach in Alicante. It was halfway along the promenade where a group was practicing the 'mataleón', a martial arts technique that knocks out the opponent. The quick intervention of an off-duty national police officer prevented this dangerous prank from ending in tragedy.

The officer was in a burger restaurant when he noticed a teenager had collapsed at the entrance of the establishment. He immediately approached him and, seeing that he was bleeding from the head, contacted emergency services to request medical assistance.

He himself, along with a restaurant employee, assisted the boy until the ambulance arrived. The testimonies collected revealed that what happened was supposedly due to a risky game played by the victim and some friends: the viral 'mataleón' challenge.

This maneuver involves leaving a person breathless by strangling them from behind after holding them tightly by the neck. The affected minor lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground, causing a severe head injury accompanied by heavy bleeding. He required urgent intervention that likely saved his life. Among other injuries, he had a significant gash on the nape that required stitches.

Police investigations have determined that the injured young man was apparently playing with his friends at assaulting each other. A surveillance camera installed in the area will likely help clarify the facts accurately, although everything suggests that the challenge escalated until at some point they decided to raise the stakes and try the 'mataleón' technique.

For now, according to the information that has emerged, the family of the hospitalized boy prefers not to file a complaint, as they consider the incident an isolated event among friends. The alleged perpetrator of the consensual strangulation is fully identified and is only 13 years old, as TodoAlicante has learned.