Dad-of-four in coma in Portugal after being stabbed while on stag do
25.07.2022 - 00:19
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dad-of-four is in a coma after being stabbed in a popular resort in Portugal while on a stag do. Joel Collins, from Wales, was allegedly attacked in the coastal city of Albufeira in the southern Algarve region while walking home on July 4 after getting separated from his friends on a night out.
The 35-year-old was then rushed into hospital in Faro by a member of the public who came across him unconscious in the street with four deep wounds in his abdomen. Joel had suffered lacerations to his pancreas, lungs, intestines and stomach and is in intensive care after multiple separate operations, his devastated family told Wales Online.
Heidi Collins, his sister, said Joel had limited memory of what had happened to him three weeks ago, but nurses said it looked like Joel had been mugged, as he arrived at the hospital without his phone or any ID. His last memory was of getting separated from his group and getting his phone out to use Google maps to find a route back to his hotel.
READ MORE 'He killed her because he loved her', her brother forgave him, and then he walked free from court - the couple whose story could change Britain
News of the attack has since reached Alex Evans, from Treherbert, who was another Welsh victim who was stabbed three times and left for dead in the same area in May this year. Like Joel, Alex was on a stag do and with a group of eight friends at the resort of Albufeira when they became separated after a night out.
Joel was left with deep stab wounds and has since been placed in intensive care following multiple surgeries. He is due to have another operation on Monday.
She said: "We're just taking it day by day now." Joel's parents and his partner, Gabriella and Heidi, are at his bedside