Durdle Door: How did the cliff jumping incident unfold?
TWO men, believed to be in their 20's, are now in critical care with life-changing injuries after jumping from a 200 foot cliff into the sea.
Here's everything we know about what happened yesterday at Durdle Door in Dorset.
What happened at Durdle Door?
Two young men have been left with potentially life-changing injuries after jumping off the 200 foot Durdle Door cliff and getting dashed on the rocks and sea bed below.
The men were pictured tombstoning into the sea from the cliffs around the Dorset landmark as thousands watched from the beach below.
A man believed to be in his 20s was pulled unconscious from the sea yesterday by two members of the public. The other has serious spinal injuries and a third was sent to hospital with a broken leg.
Witnesses said the most severely injured of the three was given CPR on the beach by an off-duty medic before being airlifted to Southampton General Hospital after he jumped and knocked himself out at 3.45pm.
A second man, aged about 25, suffered serious spinal injuries after jumping off cliffs into the sea. He was also airlifted to hospital.
A third man, also in his early 20s, is thought to have suffered a broken leg after leaping off the rocky arch and was taken to hospital by land ambulance.
Dorset Council has now shut the public roads leading to Durdle Door - although the beach remains open and covidiots were pictured today risking their lives by leaping into the water.
The men were not believed to have known each other.
Medics cleared the beach for two helicopter landings to save the two men.
The area has been closed indefinitely in response but people were still seen jumping today.
What did witnesses say?
Witnesses Clark described how the first man failed to resurface after he jumped.
Witnesses who had been cheering the boys on rushed out to sea to rescue him.
Ben Clark was at the beach at the time. He said: "The lad did not come back to the surface, he just never came back up.
"He got CPR on the beach right in front of my eyes. Then a defibrillator was used."
Another witness Hayden Bradley added: "For the amount of people cheering and encouraging others to do it, was disgusting.
"Our hearts honestly skipped a beat after one of them failed to come back up from the water after jumping in.
"It's a traumatic sight to experience lots of people swimming in to try and save him, bringing him back to shore and witnessing him being unconscious for so long.
"He had CPR and we watched a very young man fight for his life, for a long long time before we saw any sight of professional help.
"I don't think it's something we'll ever be able to forget."
The second man managed to make it back to the beach before alerting the emergency services dealing with the first casualty to spinal injuries he suffered.
What were they doing?
The men were "tombstoning" from the cliff.
Tombstoning involves either jumping or diving from a height into water.
There have been at least 20 deaths caused by tombstoning since 2005 in the UK alone.
Thriller-seekers hurl themselves from high-up ledges, such as cliffs, piers and other structures into water below – often unaware of how deep the water may be and what lies beneath it.
Why is tombstoning so dangerous?
Tombstoning is particularly dangerous as water depth can be unpredictable and alter with the tide.
Water can also often be shallower than it seems.
Other dangers include the shock of cold water, which can make it difficult to swim, as well as unanticipated currents that can sweep swimmers away.
Murky water can also camouflage an array of hazards such as rocks or other sharp objects – meaning many tombstoners are jumping into the unknown.
If I want to try tombstoning, how do I do it safely?
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has published this checklist for thrill-seekers:
- Check for hazards in the water. Rocks or other objects may be submerged and difficult to see
- Check the depth of the water. Remember tides can rise and fall very quickly
- As a rule of thumb, a jump of ten metres requires a depth of at least five metres
- Never jump whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Check for access. It may be impossible to get out of the water