Coroner: Man Dies in Fall from Balcony While Doing Handstand During Hurricane Ian

A man died when he fell from a hotel balcony in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, while performing a handstand as Hurricane Ian swept through the area on September 30.

Horry County Chief Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard said 34-year-old Ohio resident Markell Hope plunged from the 15th floor of the Patricia Grand Hotel, WYFF reported Thursday.

Hurricane Ian was moving through the area at the time and “Willard said Hope was trying to do a handstand on the balcony when he fell,” the outlet continued, adding law enforcement is investigating what happened.

The storm that hit the South Carolina coast tore apart structures and brought damaging floods after devastating the state of Florida, the Associated Press (AP) reported Saturday:

The powerful storm, estimated to be one of the costliest hurricanes ever to hit the U.S., has terrorized people for much of the week — pummeling western Cuba and raking across Florida before gathering strength in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean to curve back and strike South Carolina.

While Ian’s center came ashore near Georgetown, South Carolina, on Friday with much weaker winds than when it crossed Florida’s Gulf Coast earlier in the week, the storm left many areas of Charleston’s downtown peninsula under water. It also washed away parts of four piers along the coast, including two at Myrtle Beach.

Video footage showed heavy wind and rain blasting South Carolina while residents saw their streets flooded, CBS News reported:

Myrtle Beach Police Master Corporal Thomas Vest told the outlet, “The big thing for us is making sure people stay safe inside and off the roadways so we can keep emergency responders focused on safety and out of floodwaters.”

More footage caught the moment first responders driving high water vehicles in Georgetown County rescued citizens and their pets trapped by the storm:

“Ian made landfall in South Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph). When it hit Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, it was a powerful Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph (240 kph),” the AP report said.