CHILDREN watched on in horror as a man dressed as Father Christmas dangled off a high-rise building before plunging 240ft to his death.
The experienced climber was attempting to perform a festive stunt for crowds in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk before it all went wrong.
East2WestThe moment the stunt went awry and the climber dangled off the 24th floor[/caption]
East2WestThe city had gathered around a Christmas tree to watch the Xmas surprise[/caption]
The unnamed man, dressed as Grandfather Frost – Russia’s Father Christmas, had intended to dazzle the city’s children by climbing down the building using ropes
However, the performance went terribly wrong when he fell to his death from the building’s 24th floor in front of hundreds that had gathered around Chelyabinsk’s Christmas tree.
Local reports say that the red-robbed Santa allegedly mixed up his safety ropes, which led to the tragedy.
The kids did not see his body as the climber landed on a snow-covered structure one floor above the ground level.
The man’s wife and young child were reportedly watching from the ground.
Witnesses first believed the fall was just part of the act and didn’t immediately react.
A voice is heard saying in disbelief: “He didn’t fall….?”.
A man says: “Now he’ll come out [to see the children]…he couldn’t fall!”
An eyewitness said: “My son didn’t understand anything. Others understood, and they left in hysterics.
“All the parents, naturally, are in shock.”
Another said: “Everyone was having fun, and no-one could even think this would happen.
“I thought until the last minute that it was some kind of dummy, that it was a prank.
“The festivities carried on. There was at first no suspicion that this was a tragedy.”
The residential management company that staged the event apologised for the incident and said that the climber was an “experienced specialist”.
“Today’s holiday turned into a monstrous misfortune,” they said.
“An industrial climber dressed as Grandfather Frost fell while descending from his house and died.”
It was a “terrible and completely unpredictable incident”.
The company said: “We will do everything in our power to help the police understand the reasons and never allow this to happen again.”
A horrified resident said: “My husband and son were there.
“There were many witnesses there, including children.
“For now, no-one knows why he fell.
“Climbers wash the windows in our apartment block – and there has never been a single emergency.”
A local source said: “The man was performing tricks on climbing equipment when his wife and child were in the yard of the residential tower.
“They witnessed his death.”
Russian state investigators arrived at the scene.
They are reportedly checking the circumstances of the tragedy and a possible violation of safety rules.
The dead man’s age was variously reported by local media as 35 and 25.
East2WestThe experienced climber is seen just before he clambered over the balcony to kick off his Xmas stunt[/caption]
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