Tombstoning man rescued after 100ft jump goes wrong

Last updated at 14:33 13 August 2007


Fresh warnings have been raised over the potentially deadly craze of tombstoning after a 26-year-old man was left unconscious following a 20m jump from cliffs into the sea.

Holidaymakers, including a couple celebrating their wedding anniversary and a doctor, came to the rescue of a man who was injured after jumping off the famous Durdle Door rock on Dorset's Jurassic World Heritage coast.

Witnesses said his face and chest hit the sea hard before he disappeared underwater.

Scroll down for more

Tombstoning

Holidaymakers immediately saw the man was in trouble and called 999.

Builder Peter Wood was enjoying the weekend sunshine with his wife Marie when they saw the man jump into the water.

When the man failed to emerge from the water, Mr Wood went to his rescue in an inflatable dinghy and together with another swimmer, managed to get him to shore.

Fortunately a doctor was on the beach and was able to stabilise the man before emergency services arrived.

He was airlifted to Dorset County Hospital in a coastguard helicopter where he was recovering after suffering minor internal injuries.

Portland Coastguard said the man was believed to have been with a group who could not be found at the scene after the accident happened.

Ros Evans, Watch Manager at Portland coastguard said: "This behaviour is plain stupid.

"Young men are dying pointlessly and getting seriously injured every summer in a bid to impress their friends.

"Rescue services and the families of casualties deal with the consequences.

"This young man jumped from the top of the precarious cliff arch of Durdle Door from a height of at least 20 metres, so an injury was almost inevitable."

Concerns have been raised over tombstoning - where participants jump off cliffs and bridges - after a spate of recent injuries and deaths.

Scroll down for more

Tombstoning

In the most recent tragedy, a 16-year-old boy died after leaping into the sea at Minehead Somerset on August 3.

Stuntman Steve Truglia, who has worked on James Bond films, said that tombstoning was extremely dangerous because people do not understand how hard water is if entered from height.

"Water is like concrete if you do not enter it correctly," he said.

"People are under the misapprehension that water is soft. It is anything but soft if you hit it wrong and this is a big challenge.

"If you hit the water wrong, from 20 or 30ft even if you land feet first you will be lucky to escape serious injury."

The 39-year-old former SBS reservist from London said that the slowing force of entering water feet first means the upper body is still moving faster when someone hits the water.

This mean the lumber region is under extreme pressure and could result in damage to the spine and paralysis.

He said underwater obstacles are also a major risk as are breaks of the leg and knee from the force of hitting the water.

Anyone who sustained this sort of injury is then under water seriously injured.

Only extremely well trained people who can jump off properly and are able to correct their bodies in flight should attempt such risks, he added.

Most watched News videos