Bosses from the Centrepoint tower’s Skywalk have revealed guests can loosen their harness while at the attraction, but sign a waiver beforehand declaring they won’t.
Investigations will continue after a woman plunged 268 metres to her death from the Sydney Tower Eye on Thursday.
The woman is believed to have unclipped her harness and jumped from the Sydney attraction.
This photo shows the woman’s body covered by tarpaulin after workers retrieved it after the tragedy on Thursday afternoon
Staff working at the tower said the building was closed ‘until further notice following an incident’. Pictured: The tower and the walkway around it where the skywalks take place
The Skywalk will remain closed while Merlin Entertainments, the company which runs the Sydney TowerEye Skywalk, assist police with an investigation.
The company who operates TowerEye Skywalk said the belt was secured around the waist and tightly fastened.
‘This belt can be loosened by the wearer. However all guests are provided with training and sign a Declaration Form prior to embarking on Skywalk that they cannot tamper with or remove the equipment while taking part in the experience,’ Sydney Tower Eye Divisional Director Rob Smith said, according to news.com.au.
Mr Smith added: ‘The health and safety of our guests and staff is always our primary objective.
Police have not confirmed who the woman is but she is believed to be a 22-year-old from Sydney’s south.
Questions have been asked about how the woman was able to unfasten herself from the safety harness on the Skywalk – an attraction on the outside of the tower in the heart of Sydney’s CBD.
At 309 metres, it is the second tallest building in the southern hemisphere and the tallest point in Sydney.
Police and Merlin have not released further details answering why the woman was able to undo her harness.
The woman is thought to have taken off her harness and climbed over the railing. Seen here are a group of visitors on a Skywalk tour on a separate occasion
Merlin said it worked to provide ‘the highest quality standards, conforming to all regulatory requirements, buildings and best practice in the industry’.
The company assured people it carried out daily safety checks, training for staff, maintenance, preventative control measures which are checked by experts.
Witnesses claim the woman started the walk on Thursday afternoon in her harness but soon became agitated and removed it after threatening to self harm.
The woman who plunged to her death from Sydney’s Centrepoint Tower today fell right past office workers who saw her face as she plummeted, a witness has told Daily Mail Australia. Pictured: The place where the woman landed
The woman is understood to have then fallen off the platform.
Police were called to a ‘self harm incident’ about 2.40pm on Thursday and began to retrieve the woman’s body from a canopy beneath the tower.
Meanwhile, paramedics treated witnesses, some who were shaking with shock and one woman who had to be taken away in a wheelchair.
Long walk: The Skywalk tour of the Sydney Tower sees daredevils take a 45-minute tour on a glass-bottomed walkway around the tower while hooked up to safety harnesses
Daily Mail Australia understands Safe Work has not been asked to investigate the circumstances that allowed the woman to take her life, but police are as part of their investigation for the coroner.
The Skywalk is described as a ‘breath-taking 45 minute guided tour around the outside of Sydney’s highest building.’
A witness named Chris, who was inside the fourth-floor observation deck at the time, told Daily Mail Australia of the chaotic scenes inside the tower after the woman fell.
This image, taken through the glass floor of the walkway on the tower, shows the place (at the bottom of the photo) where the woman landed after she fell
He said: ‘I was inside when I heard a worker start running and yelling back at his co-workers to ‘call downstairs”.
‘At first, I thought there was a fire but there were no fire alarms so I really didn’t know what was going on.
‘I walked over to my friends who seemed pretty grim and asked them what happened.
‘They said they had just seen a woman fall. One of my friends said she saw her falling right in front of her face. I asked if she had a parachute and she said ‘no’.
‘We could not see where the woman landed because our view directly downwards was cut off at a certain point. My friend said she had a clear view of the woman’s face as he was falling because he was turned towards the sky.
‘She said that she looked to be middle aged.’
Standing on the platform with the woman at the time were an elderly couple, a young girl, and a few others, Chris said.
‘It seemed like nobody knew the woman. We decided to leave because we were feeling a bit uncomfortable, and as we got off the elevator there were a few police officers.’
‘At this stage the Sydney Tower Eye Observation Deck and SKYWALK are closed.’
Police are preparing a report for the coroner.
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