Police say 30-year-old man was with a group of friends who decided to leap off bridge in Queensland on Sunday night after drinking at a nearby hostel

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Fears are growing for a British backpacker still missing after jumping off a bridge into the Brisbane River “for a bit of fun”, police said.

The 30-year-old man was the first of four friends who planned to jump from the William Jolly bridge in Brisbane’s central business district about 10.30pm on Sunday, police said.

Police Inspector Sean Cryer said the man had been drinking with the group at a nearby backpackers’ hostel.

“They had agreed between themselves that they were going to jump off the bridge for a bit of fun and to cool down,” he said. “The young man in question – the 30-year-old British national – jumped off the bridge first.

“The other three fellows said he took a running jump from three or four metres away, jumped over the rail, went under the water ... he came back up again for a few seconds, rolled on his side and went back under the water and he hasn’t been seen since.”

Helicopter searches using infrared cameras on Sunday night failed to find any sign of the man following the jump of approximately 10 metres.

QPS Media Unit (@QPSmedia) Police are warning against people from engaging in high risk activity like jumping off bridges. It's an offence & you can face Court.

Water police will continue to scour the river, while bike and vehicle patrols will search both side of the river.

Officers have contacted the man’s family in the UK as they continue to scour the river for him. The man also had relatives in Brisbane, Cryer said.

Police had been unable to contact them on Monday morning local time.



“We will continue our search and rescue operation until we find him,” Cryer said. “It’s tragic, it’s really unfortunate.

“Obviously jumping off a bridge into a river is a silly thing to do and we would warn against it.”

Police respond to people jumping off the bridge, which stands about 10 metres above the water, about once a month.



Australian Associated Press contributed to this report