In a heart-stopping incident that sent the police into overdrive, an adrenaline enthusiast parachuted from the top of Birmingham’s 509-foot ‘One Eastside’ skyscraper, causing quite the stir in the city centre. Opting for anonymity, the BASE jumper took the plunge from the still-under-construction 51-storey tower block at the corner of James Watt Queensway.
Captivating video captured the moment the jumper descended from the building’s summit and deployed his parachute just in time, serenely gliding between two National Express buses to land perfectly outside B&M.
A quick-acting police officer apprehended the thrill-seeker, looking skyward in bewilderment as he questioned, “Where have you come from? ” The officer was met with an even more baffling reply when the adventurer quipped: “A plane just dropped me off…out of nowhere.”
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Despite wishing to stay out of the spotlight, the intrepid jumper spoke to BirminghamLive post-stunt, revealing the Instagram handle ‘@letsmakestupiddecisions’. He described the leap as particularly thrilling due to the swift police reaction and the knowledge that they were actively searching for him with dogs.
“Jumping off this particular building was more exciting than some of the others, simply due to the police response and knowing they were on the site with dogs searching for us. The response was extremely quick compared to other cities in the UK.”, reports Birmingham Live.
“They arrived in about 15 minutes. Hats off to them for not only a quick response but for their professionalism and speed. Unfortunately, they apprehended us,” he said, recounting the intense experience and the consequent “rush” it provided.
Despite having been a BASE jumper for a decade, he admitted that the stunt still provided him with “excitement”. He described it as a “moment of purity, peace and tranquillity,” adding, “Everything slows down. It’s the wonder of [will the parachute open] and then, boom, it’s open and an almighty surge of adrenaline flows through your entire body.”
When questioned about whether parachute jumps still frighten him, he responded, “I’m not scared of the jump itself anymore, but I’m very mindful of the dangers and the importance of methodically checking my equipment, and taking a moment on the edge to analyse the exit point in more detail – as well as the flight path and landing area.”
He noted that this particular jump was slightly different due to the heavy police presence around the building.
“This was slightly different than normal due to the roads around the building having a large police presence. We decided to gamble and extend the flight in an attempt to avoid police engagement.”
He confessed, “I definitely felt a bit of pressure knowing that security, and or, the police could be on the roof imminently. But we made a conscious decision to remain calm and focus on the job in hand.”
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