Man dies after balcony fall from Pyrmont apartment

THE man, believed to be in his mid 50s, was known to try and climb back into his apartment and neighbours had warned him of the dangers.

A MAN has died after falling 12m from his fifth floor balcony while trying to climb into his apartment in Pyrmont.

The man, aged in his mid-50s, fell from the block on Harris St about 6pm yesterday and despite paramedics’ attempts to revive him. was pronounced dead at the scene.

A neighbour who lives opposite the block, Jenece Oktaban, was one of the first to try to help him.

“I heard a noise ... and then I heard people screaming, I thought someone had been hit by a car,” she said.

“So I ran over to try and see if I could help him and I saw the body lying there.”

Ms Oktaban said the man looked seriously injured, saying there was lots of blood and she saw broken fingers and toes, but said she searched for his pulse and attempted to check his airways following instructions from Triple-0 until paramedics arrived.

The unit block where the man fell from in Pyrmont. Picture: Adam Taylor

She was helped by another man, but was upset with onlookers who walked past without stopping to try to help.

“Everyone was screaming and running away. I know it looked pretty hopeless buy it’s pretty disgusting no one else was trying to help. He could have had a chance, who knows?”

The man’s body is taken away after the fatal fall. Picture: Adam Taylor

Police covered the body with a blue tent as they interviewed neighbours and examined the scene.

Ms Oktaban said neighbours from the man’s building had told her it wasn’t the first time he had tried to climb back inside the unit and that they had warned him of the dangers.

A report is being prepared for the coroner.