‘Harrowing’ screams: Moment cliff jump went horribly wrong

The 12-year-old girl who broke both her legs and an ankle in a gruesome cliff-jumping accident on the Mornington Peninsula thought she was paralysed the minute she hit the water.

The 12-year-old girl who broke both her legs and an ankle in a freak cliff-jumping accident on the Mornington Peninsula thought she was paralysed the minute she hit the water.

And she has a message for others who are thinking of taking the plunge at the popular tourist spot: “Don’t jump”.

Sarah Jacka and her dad Chris have warned others of the dangers of cliff jumping. Picture: Mark Stewart.

Sarah Jacka is recovering at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond after she pin-dropped into the water at The Pillars in Mount Martha on New Year’s Day.

She broke four bones in her legs and ankle and underwent surgery on Tuesday, but was still in remarkably good spirits.

Sarah Jacka jumped from The Pillars at Mt Martha and broke both her legs and an ankle.

Sarah, who one day hopes to compete as an Olympic diver, said it was the worst pain she’d ever experienced.

“I went straight to the bottom and my knees went back and I just got this shock and couldn’t feel anything,” she said from her hospital bed.

“I thought I was paralysed … I just got up and started screaming.”

Sarah’s ankle was badly broken.

A chunk of her tibia came off in the break.

Sarah’s left leg is in a cast and her right leg is supported by a leg brace, getting around the hospital in a wheelchair before she’s given the green light to head home.

Her father, Chris, said his daughter was a “trooper” and expects her to bounce back from her injuries quickly.

“She broke her tibia down at the base, a chunk of the tibia came off, that’s been screwed back in with two screws,” he said.

“She also fractured two elements of her talus, they’ve been glued back on, so she did a really good job on the ankle, there’s lots of damage down there.

“She’s amazing, an absolute trooper, she’s got an amazing spirit.

“She hasn’t, at any point, whinged or complained, I don’t think we’ve seen any tears since the actual incident.”

The 12-year-old is a keen diver.

Sarah says while she’s keen to get back into competitive diving, she won’t be heading to Mount Martha ever again.

“Don’t jump, it’s not worth the risk,” she said.

Mr Jacka echoed those thoughts.

“Don’t do it, let’s be serious,” he added.

“It’s fun, but the risk is just too great.

“The reality is when you’re jumping into water, depths change, swell changes and it’s just not worth the risk.”

Mr Jacka filmed the jump from his boat, not knowing anything had gone wrong until she resurfaced.

“I was on the boat videoing it, I thought she’d done a very simple jump, and then she popped up and she’s come up screaming,” he added.

“I’ve thrown the phone, taken off the shirt and swam across and it was pretty harrowing at the time.

“She said she couldn’t feel any touch, and at that point, we thought she’d broken her back, it was pretty scary.”