Witnesses say mystery man jumped from London’s tallest tower before opening a green parachute and floating to the ground

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Base jumper is believed to have parachuted from the top of the Shard, London’s tallest building, on Saturday morning.

Witnesses said they saw the man, whose identity remains a mystery, leap from the skyscraper before opening a green parachute. The Shard’s bosses have launched an investigation into how the man was able to enter and jump from the building.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The leaper on his way down after jumping from the 309.6m tower. Photograph: Brian Travers via Facebook/Shit London

Justin Knock, who works nearby, noticed the man when his parachute opened in mid-air. After a few seconds he realised the man was a Base jumper, and he watched him land “very, very comfortably” on the street below the glass-clad building.

He said: “Someone was there and gave him a bit of a hand to pull his chute in. And then some other guy came over and said something to him. I don’t know whether he was saying ‘That was amazing, you’re incredible’ or ‘You’re an absolute idiot, what are you doing?’”

After the quick exchange, Knock said the man then ran towards nearby London Bridge tube station and he lost sight of him. He said police officers were there within minutes, as well as security from the Shard.

Knock said he thought the man could be in his late 20s or early 30s, of medium height and perhaps even “a bit overweight”, with brown hair. “He didn’t look like a daredevil. He looked fairly nondescript, so may be part of the disguise,” he said.

“But, yeah, a pretty daring bloke who obviously knew what he was doing, and I imagine so far he’s gotten away with it,” he added.





Louis Lau (@louiscylau) Someone may have just parachuted from the Shard on to St Thomas Street SE1

James Searle (@JP_Searle) Just seen some loon base-jump from the top of The Shard! 😳 #shartyourself #shard

Philglas & Swiggot (@PhilglasSwiggot) Just saw this guy #basejump from #london #shard #boroughmarket. Absolutely mental!! pic.twitter.com/n45tExCiyx

Henry Woolway, an art director shooting a Netflix series in a nearby car park, told the Daily Mail: “I saw him jump before the parachute opened. I didn’t see him jump from the Shard, but he was definitely higher than all the surrounding buildings.”

Brian Travers, 30, told Buzzfeed he saw the man “leap off the top” of the Shard before “hovering about a bit” and landing safely. When the jumper reached the ground in Borough market, a woman took his parachute and he “legged it” into the tube station.

A Metropolitan police spokesman confirmed that officers were called to the area at 10.18am but that no arrests had been made. A spokesperson later confirmed that no further action will be taken.



At 309.6m high, the landmark tower is one of the tallest buildings in the EU but has no external viewing platform, which raises questions as to how the Base jumper was able to leap from the top.



A spokeswoman for the Shard said: “We can confirm that we are investigating an incident involving a member of the public this morning. All parts of the building remain open.”

Base jumping is absurdly dangerous – so why do it? Read more

It is not the first time such a daredevil jump has been achieved, although it is thought to be the first since the building opened.

In 2012, while the tower was still under construction, Essex roofer Dan Witchalls jumped from various heights of the building four times. Witchalls is a serial Base jumper, having leapt off the London Eye, Nelson’s Column, Wembley Stadium and the O2 Arena.

In 2013, six Greenpeace protesters scaled the building without ropes to raise awareness of Shell drilling for oil in the Antarctic.

