The 12-year-old girl jumped off the popular cliffs during low tide. Photo / 9News
The 12-year-old girl jumped off the popular cliffs during low tide. Photo / 9News
A 12-year-old girl broke four of the bones in her legs and ankles after she jumped off a popular cliff in Australia.
Footage of Sarah Jacka has gone viral showing the horrifying moment a jump off The Pillars cliffs in Mount Martha along Mornington Peninsula resulted in a painful landing.
Speaking to 9News, the Year 7 student recalled the terrifying ordeal, saying once she landed in the low tide, she believed she was paralysed, “I couldn’t feel my legs at all,” she told the news outlet.
Also speaking 9News was her father, Chris who was filming Sarah’s jump from the family’s boat when he saw her land in the water and scream out in pain, making him immediately swim over to help her.
Sarah Jacka was rushed to hospital after the jump and underwent surgery. Photo / 9News
Calling the incident “harrowing”, he said the jump left him shocked because he had just watched her do what he believed was a “very simple jump” into the water, “She said she couldn’t feel her legs so I was scared she broke her back,” he said
Sarah, who has dreams of becoming an Olympic diver, was immediately rushed to hospital after the horrifying ordeal where surgeons were quick to get her into surgery and repair the damage to her tibia and talus.
Chris spoke to the Herald Sun about his daughter’s recovery, proudly stating she had been an “absolute trooper” in the weeks after the incident, and doctors expect she will be fully recovered in six months.
Sarah Jacka is using a mechanical trolley to move around while recovering. Photo / 9News
“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.”
Unfortunately for Sarah, it may be a long and frustrating recovery with the aspiring diver unable to walk because she has one leg in a cast strapped to her other leg, which is in a leg brace. “It’s a bit sad because I’m so active and it’s really hard not being able to do sport,” she said.
When asked if she would do the jump again, Sarah told the news outlet she would not. Her dad added, “It’s not worth the risk for that 30 seconds of adrenalin.”
Sarah wasn’t the only one to injure themselves on the cliffs this week — news.com.au reported a 24-year-old man broke his leg while attemping a jump. In response to the incidents, Mornington Peninsula Shire Council has closed nearby sites and placed signs at the cliff warning other jumpers of the dangers.
