A YOUNG man critically injured after falling from an 8m high city building has sparked fears of a potentially deadly new rooftop-jumping extreme sport in Cairns.
The Cairns man, 22, was in a critical but stable condition in Townsville Hospital last night with serious head and internal injuries after police said he fell from a Lake St building about 1.45am yesterday.
Acting Sgt Dave Buckman said CitySafe security cameras recorded the man running along the rooftop above the Bull Bar steakhouse then jumping off the top of the building.
Blood where the man landed in a narrow alleyway between the building and the Cairns Regional Council parking station was still visible yesterday.
The owners of the Bull Bar and Fiesta Cantina yesterday told The Cairns Post they feared the man was the victim in a street version of "parkour" in which young people run across rooftops and leap on to adjacent buildings.
An Australian Parkour Association spokesman yesterday confirmed the extreme sport had reached Cairns but said his group had no members and was not active in the Far North.
Bull Bar owner Dave Dwyer said he had spoken with the daredevil "runners" and now saw or heard them on his roof at least once a month.
"It’s a game. They jump, they roll," he said.
"They’ll climb up anywhere, using pipes, wheelie bins, whatever they can grab on to, like Spiderman.
"I’ve come in at 3am and seen them and said ‘what are you doing’ and they say ‘trying to play Ninjas’."
Fiesta Cantina owner Adrian Murray said at least four people had fallen through the sails above his courtyard tables this year – two in the past month.
"My advice is ‘stop it, or you’ll kill yourself’,’’ he said yesterday.
Mr Murray said the only evidence the next day was the large gaping holes, with the culprits long gone despite falling several metres on to concrete.
He did not believe the men were trying to break in as they never "touched the windows or tried the door".
"It just seems to be an addiction to running and jumping off roofs," he said.
Although police were unable to comment on the reasons for the man’s fall yesterday, Sgt Buckman warned running across roofs was "very dangerous and foolhardy".
Police are urging people who saw the incident to contact detectives at Cairns CIB on 4030 7153 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
"Even if they do land safely on another roof, it could be old and rusty and they could go straight through or they could land on old roofing iron that might not be stable," he said.
Australian Parkour Association Queensland spokesman Shawn Forstpointner said his organisation was about building physical strength and "absolutely discourages anything that puts people at risk".
"Thrill-seeking is not what parkour is about; it’s about training your body to have strength and agility and speed and flexibility," Mr Forstpointner said.
"When we train it’s always at ground level."
