Mount Martha Pillars cliffs in Mornington Peninsula: Painful moment girl, 12, shattered both her legs leaping off a cliff – as she issues a warning to other thrill seekers

A promising high school diver thought she was paralyzed after jumping off a cliff at low tide at a popular surfing spot.

Sarah Jacka, 12, broke three bones in her legs and one in her ankle when she performed a pin-drop jump from the cliffs of The Pillars in Mount Martha along the Mornington Peninsula on New Year’s Day.

Her father Chris was filming the dive from the family’s boat when he heard his daughter’s ‘harrowing’ screams.

The year seven pupil was rescued by surf lifeguards and taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where she underwent surgery on Tuesday after her swelling went down.

Now Sarah and her father are repeating the message from rescue teams to try to prevent others from taking the same risk they did when she jumped from The Pillars.

Her father Chris filmed the jump from the family’s boat before hearing his daughter’s ‘harrowing’ screams

When Sarah hit the ocean floor, she immediately lost all feeling in her legs and assumed she would be paralyzed.

“I was like, ‘oh my god, I’ve paralyzed myself.’ I couldn’t feel my legs at all,” she says told 9News.

Sarah was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where X-rays showed she had suffered bilateral fractures below both knees and a further three in her right ankle.

Once her condition stabilized, she was transferred to Epworth Hospital in Richmond for reconstructive surgery.

Chris praised his daughter for being a “trooper” during the recovery process, which is expected to last the next six months.

Sarah has now returned home and uses her father’s mechanical trolley to travel around the house while her legs are in position.

Before the accident, she was considered an elite athlete and was a former gymnast who competed on the state diving team.

“It’s kind of sad because I’m so active and it’s really hard not being able to exercise,” she said.

Sarah’s recovery will take six months and in the meantime she will travel around on Chris’ mechanical trolley

Days before Sarah shattered her legs, a 24-year-old man had to be rescued after jumping from the same area and landing on his neck.

A surf rescue team was sent to rescue the man who was semi-conscious but unable to walk at the time.

One member of the team said these incidents were becoming more frequent and each incident required a specialist group to navigate the difficult cliff areas.

The Mount Martha cliff is Crown land and the council said it had placed ‘do not jump’ signs near The Pillars to prevent further such incidents from happening.

Sarah said she won’t be doing the jump again once she’s recovered, and Chris said the two will now encourage others to think twice before trying it themselves.

“It’s not worth the injury, it’s not worth the risk for that 30 seconds of adrenaline,” Chris said.