Desperate plea for people to stop jumping from The Pillars at Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula after three were seriously injured in one week

Rescuers are pleading with swimmers to stop jumping from a notorious beach cliff after a wave of people were injured at the scene.

The Mount Martha Life Saving Club has urged everyone visiting The Pillars on the Mornington Peninsula, near Melbourne, to stay safe after three people suffered life-changing injuries in the first two weeks of 2024.

A 22-year-old woman may have been left paralyzed after jumping off a cliff and suffering serious spinal injuries when another swimmer landed on top of her on January 12.

Another 12-year-old girl broke both legs and an ankle on New Year’s Day after jumping in at low tide and the day before a man broke his leg and injured his spine in the same way.

The council has tried to install fencing around the cliff, but lifesavers say this has so far been ineffective as the area is unsupervised and receives around 500 visitors every day.

Sarah Jacka, 12, broke both legs and an ankle after jumping off a cliff during low tide on New Year’s Day as her father, Chris, watched

Mount Martha Life Saving Club Captain Chris Quinn said all the injuries have one thing in common: people jumping at low tide.

“People come down when it suits them, which may not suit Mother Nature and it’s low tide,” he says told Yahoo.

‘The challenge now is that it gets so much attention on social media: a lot of people just come to it who have no knowledge.’

Mr Quinn said his main concern was that tourists visiting the Columns do not understand the dangers of jumping into the ocean from such a height.

Locals who have been doing it for years’have a better understanding of the risks, he added.

The ‘main message’ Mr Quinn wanted to convey is that people should not jump off cliffs at all, but he admitted most swimmers won’t listen.

Instead, lifesavers have tried to level the playing field between locals who understand when it’s safe to jump and those who don’t.

Mr Quin implored swimmers to ‘look before you leap’.

‘Look at the depth of the water, look how shallow it is. “If you are going to jump, make sure you do it in an area where people are free,” he said.

The last swimmer to injure herself was rescued by other people who saw what happened and ran to help her float as emergency services arrived.

Due to her suspected back injury, the woman was unable to move in the water and had to be carefully lifted onto a lifeguard’s boat.

Another woman, 22, had to be hoisted up by other swimmers when someone jumped off the cliffs and landed on her on January 12, seriously injuring her spine

Mount Martha Life Saving Club Captain Chris Quinn said it is difficult to tackle the problem of swimmers jumping off the cliffs due to the site’s viral presence on social media

Sarah Jacka was visiting Mount Martha on New Year’s Day when she injured herself as her father, Chris, watched from a distance.

He filmed the 12-year-old performing a pin-drop jump from The Pillars, which resulted in three broken bones in her legs and one in her ankle.

Chris later revealed that he didn’t realize anything was wrong until he heard it from his daughter ‘harrowing’ screams after she landed.

The Year 7 student said she dreamed of becoming an Olympic diver until the accident, which will take six months of healing.

In response to the latest injuries, including a 24-year-old man who seriously injured himself the day before Sarah’s jump, lifesavers have brainstormed with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council on how to keep people safe.

Mr Quinn said the issue has proven ‘problematic’ as the area is not patrolled and is a ‘radio communications black spot’.

Rescuers have asked the council to consider installing a water depth marker so swimmers can make ‘informed decisions’ about the dangers of jumping.

Sarah’s dad Chris filmed his daughter’s jump from the family boat, unaware she had seriously injured herself until he heard her ‘harrowing’ screams