One of the jumpers, snapped by reader Colby Swandale. He said he suspected they had hidden parachutes underneath their jackets. The men walked out onto the bar’s balcony, taking helmets with cameras attached out of their suitcases. They then pushed each other up and over the glass barrier surrounding the deck and BASE jumped - an extreme sport in which parachutists dive from the top of buildings, antennae, bridges and cliffs - from the 55th floor to the ground below. ‘‘(They) just went to the door shut it on the deck so no one could grab them and jumped,’’ Mr Bennett said. They landed safely and fled the scene in a car that was waiting for them on the street below.

Reader Jeraaz Bharucha took this picture of one of the Rialto BASE jumpers. The group did not have a reservation to dine at the restaurant, which would have required them to identify themselves with a credit card. ‘‘I was in the kitchen last night and I had my maitre’d come in white-faced and said there’s someone on the balcony and they’re about to jump,’’ Mr Bennett told radio station 3AW. Another of the jumpers, seen from a nearby balcony. Credit:Jeraaz Bharucha He said the jump had been carefully planned by experienced BASE jumpers well in advance. ‘‘Not any normal person can get up over that glass so they knew what they were doing, it was very well planned,’’ he said.

‘‘I suspect either they’ve been up before or they’ve had someone come up and scope our (security) procedures because they knew all the little intricacies that our procedures entail when you’re coming up the lifts and what you do with baggage.’’ No tall story ... Vue de Monde chef Shannon Bennett. Credit:Eddie Jim Mr Bennett denied the jump was a publicity stunt. He said the group had worn helmets that had cameras attached to them when they jumped from the balcony of the 55th floor. ‘‘Who knows where we’ll see the footage come out somewhere along the line but really what I’m worried about is the safety of our guests that come upstairs and obviously the reputation of the building,’’ he said.

Vue de Monde was looking at ways to improve the restaurant’s security procedures, with particular focus on how to prevent people from climbing over the glass barrier on the balcony, Mr Bennett said. ‘‘We’ve got some really important safety measures that we’ve always had in place and I’m very confident that with a few upgrades this can’t be done again.’’ Mr Bennett said the restaurant had 16 security cameras installed which would allow them to investigate the identities of the jumpers. Deputy Police Commissioner Kieran Walshe called the jump was extremely dangerous and reckless. "It’s not something we would encourage anyone to undertake. It’s an extremely dangerous activity,’’ he said. ‘‘We don’t know who these people were and I’m sure they would say they’re experienced, but it’s just a stupid thing to do. To jump off a building in the CBD of Melbourne is just a silly thing to do."