Urgences-Santé said a man in his 20s is in serious condition and suffered major trauma after falling two-and-a-half floors inside the Cours Mont Royal shopping mall in downtown Montreal.

Marc-André Gagnon, spokesman for Urgences-Santé, said the incident took place around 3:20 p.m.

"He was with some friends, they were on that balcony and he was possibly inebriated following all his [friends] that were with him. He was in the festivities of the St. Patrick's Day parade," he said.

Gagnon said the man was unconscious when emergency teams arrived on the scene but that he responded to stimuli.

Shortly after 4 p.m., Gagnon said it was still too early to determine whether the man's life was in danger.