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See the comments below by alleged eyewitness. These comments about the lack of urgency and medical staff could become a major issues. What do you think?
Canadian dies after jumping off seaside cliffs in Jamaica: police
Police say a Canadian vacationer has died after jumping off seaside cliffs in a western Jamaican beach town and hitting rocks.
The Associated Press
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2014 4:24PM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:21PM EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Police say a Canadian vacationer has died after jumping off seaside cliffs in a western Jamaican beach town and hitting rocks.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force on Wednesday identified the dead tourist as 26-year-old Taylor Rankin. They say he was from Ontario but could not provide his hometown.
Investigators in the tourist town of Negril say Rankin apparently was aiming to land in the sea on Tuesday when he jumped from coastal cliffs. He was among a group of companions.
They believe the Canadian man miscalculated his jump and hit rocks. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
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Dr. Luke Haslam, DDS
I was unfortunately an eyewitness to this tragedy and would like to provide you with some more accurate details of the event. My wife and I were members of a scenic ocean tour to Ricks Cafe in Negril and arrived at the cliff side before 4pm. Our group began the swim from the boat to the cliff side where a ladder, then staircase provide access up the cliff to the cafe. This is a hotspot to view the locals dive from the cliffs for tips. Many tourists jump as we'll and are warned to do so at their own risk. I was in the water about 50 yards from this young man when he jumped from the upper diving level. He attempted a double back flip and landed directly in the water with a belly flop; there was no impact with rocks at any point. When he surfaced, he slowly swam for a period of about 30 sec before he rolled onto his back and started to float. There were about half a dozen locals and tourists within arms reach of him at this point and he was quickly brought to the ladder where he was lifted out of the water and laid on the rocks. No attempts were made by anyone to assess he condition or provide spinal support before this lift because rescue and medical staff are nonexistent. The scene was very chaotic and crowded. I could not see nor hear what rescue services were being provided because I was in the water and unable to get close to the ladder to get ashore for about ten minutes. One of the tour staff from the vessel I was on retrieved a spine board from our boat and brought it to the cliff side by way of a smaller tour boat that could get close to the rocks. The many tourists still floating in the water made way for the boat to gain quick access to the injured man. After he was moved to the board, he was lifted up a set of stairs to a larger area about halfway up the cliffs. At this point I was able to make my way to the ladder and climb out of the water. I made my way through the crowd so I could make sure there was an experienced person assessing his condition. There were two nurses from the USA providing CPR. A box for an AED was brought to the injured man, but it only contained an o2 mask with an empty bottle. The nurses, tourists and family members had already asked for emergency services to be called, but they were told that none existed. The young man was cyanotic with no pulp response. He was showing signs of tetany suggestive of a cranial injury. Over and over again, emergency transportation to a hospital was requested with none provided. After about 45min of unsuccessful CPR, he was carried to the top of the cliff and transported to the hospital by tour shuttle bus. The local hospital is about 90min from this location. This was a tragic accident in a location that was entirely unprepared for emergency services. Many locals were moving the experienced emergency providers away with comments like, he is okay, he's just drunk....he is in gods hands, let god help him breath... I even heard someone say don't talk about this at your resort because this happens all the time and we still want people to come here! Once he was taken away, the music and cliff diving resumed without hesitation.
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Meg
My husband and I are on vacation currently in Negril Jamaica where we took a catamaran cruise to world famous Ricks Cafe on May 27th. We arrived around 4pm and began swimming from the cruise boat to the rocky shores where we would visit this famous place. While swimming to shore, ourselves and other tourists stopped swimming where we watched This young man jump from seaside cliffs at World famous Rick's Cafe where he directly hit water. He surfaced coherent for maybe 15 seconds before going unconscious. He was removed from the water without a spine board or any major assistance given the trauma he just incurred. There, several people, mainly tourists from the catamaran cruise began to provide CPR, two nurses from the US attempted CPR with the aid of other tourists and a lifeguard on duty at Ricks Cafe. Primary concern was to ensure heartbeat and a clear airway.. None of which appeared to be present. It was insisted an ambulance be contacted immediately... After much argument between everyone trying to provide CPR and the staff at Ricks Cafe, he was carried to the top of the cliffs where the cafe sits, where he was taken by shuttle bus or van to the nearest hospital. A truly devastating thing to see. My deepest and most heartfelt condolences to his friends and family present, and to his family home in Ont.
Canadian dies after jumping off seaside cliffs in Jamaica: police
Police say a Canadian vacationer has died after jumping off seaside cliffs in a western Jamaican beach town and hitting rocks.The Associated Press
Published Wednesday, May 28, 2014 4:24PM EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, May 28, 2014 11:21PM EDT
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Police say a Canadian vacationer has died after jumping off seaside cliffs in a western Jamaican beach town and hitting rocks.
The Jamaica Constabulary Force on Wednesday identified the dead tourist as 26-year-old Taylor Rankin. They say he was from Ontario but could not provide his hometown.
Investigators in the tourist town of Negril say Rankin apparently was aiming to land in the sea on Tuesday when he jumped from coastal cliffs. He was among a group of companions.
They believe the Canadian man miscalculated his jump and hit rocks. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
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Dr. Luke Haslam, DDS
I was unfortunately an eyewitness to this tragedy and would like to provide you with some more accurate details of the event. My wife and I were members of a scenic ocean tour to Ricks Cafe in Negril and arrived at the cliff side before 4pm. Our group began the swim from the boat to the cliff side where a ladder, then staircase provide access up the cliff to the cafe. This is a hotspot to view the locals dive from the cliffs for tips. Many tourists jump as we'll and are warned to do so at their own risk. I was in the water about 50 yards from this young man when he jumped from the upper diving level. He attempted a double back flip and landed directly in the water with a belly flop; there was no impact with rocks at any point. When he surfaced, he slowly swam for a period of about 30 sec before he rolled onto his back and started to float. There were about half a dozen locals and tourists within arms reach of him at this point and he was quickly brought to the ladder where he was lifted out of the water and laid on the rocks. No attempts were made by anyone to assess he condition or provide spinal support before this lift because rescue and medical staff are nonexistent. The scene was very chaotic and crowded. I could not see nor hear what rescue services were being provided because I was in the water and unable to get close to the ladder to get ashore for about ten minutes. One of the tour staff from the vessel I was on retrieved a spine board from our boat and brought it to the cliff side by way of a smaller tour boat that could get close to the rocks. The many tourists still floating in the water made way for the boat to gain quick access to the injured man. After he was moved to the board, he was lifted up a set of stairs to a larger area about halfway up the cliffs. At this point I was able to make my way to the ladder and climb out of the water. I made my way through the crowd so I could make sure there was an experienced person assessing his condition. There were two nurses from the USA providing CPR. A box for an AED was brought to the injured man, but it only contained an o2 mask with an empty bottle. The nurses, tourists and family members had already asked for emergency services to be called, but they were told that none existed. The young man was cyanotic with no pulp response. He was showing signs of tetany suggestive of a cranial injury. Over and over again, emergency transportation to a hospital was requested with none provided. After about 45min of unsuccessful CPR, he was carried to the top of the cliff and transported to the hospital by tour shuttle bus. The local hospital is about 90min from this location. This was a tragic accident in a location that was entirely unprepared for emergency services. Many locals were moving the experienced emergency providers away with comments like, he is okay, he's just drunk....he is in gods hands, let god help him breath... I even heard someone say don't talk about this at your resort because this happens all the time and we still want people to come here! Once he was taken away, the music and cliff diving resumed without hesitation.
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Meg
My husband and I are on vacation currently in Negril Jamaica where we took a catamaran cruise to world famous Ricks Cafe on May 27th. We arrived around 4pm and began swimming from the cruise boat to the rocky shores where we would visit this famous place. While swimming to shore, ourselves and other tourists stopped swimming where we watched This young man jump from seaside cliffs at World famous Rick's Cafe where he directly hit water. He surfaced coherent for maybe 15 seconds before going unconscious. He was removed from the water without a spine board or any major assistance given the trauma he just incurred. There, several people, mainly tourists from the catamaran cruise began to provide CPR, two nurses from the US attempted CPR with the aid of other tourists and a lifeguard on duty at Ricks Cafe. Primary concern was to ensure heartbeat and a clear airway.. None of which appeared to be present. It was insisted an ambulance be contacted immediately... After much argument between everyone trying to provide CPR and the staff at Ricks Cafe, he was carried to the top of the cliffs where the cafe sits, where he was taken by shuttle bus or van to the nearest hospital. A truly devastating thing to see. My deepest and most heartfelt condolences to his friends and family present, and to his family home in Ont.
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