Parkour enthusiast dies while jumping a Tasmanian blowhole

An extensive land, sea and air search of Blackman’s Bay ended in tragedy after the body of a missing teenage boy was pulled from the water.

Police suspect that 16-year-old parkour enthusiast Alexander Vincent died trying to make a five-metre jump from one side of the Blackman’s Bay blowhole to the other on Thursday.

The family is ‘understandably distraught’, Inspector David Wiss told ABC.

Alexander was last seen in the Kingston Beach area at 2pm. 

When he didn’t return from a walk along the foreshore, his family raised the alarm.

‘After a few hours the family became concerned because he wasn’t at his pick-up point, they contacted police and police undertook an extensive land and sea search,’ Inspector Wiss revealed. 

‘Tragically his body was located in the water just outside the blowhole itself.’

Divers were prompted to search the area after his jacket was seen near the blowhole, with a helicopter searching the coastline and a police boat scouring the River Derwent.

Offering his condolences to the Vincent family, Kingborough Mayor Steve Wass said, ‘It’s a tragic event and our sympathies go out to his family and friends.’

The tragic death of Alexander is the second in the area this year after 17-year-old Maggie Lore fell from a clifftop in January.

The body of 16-year-old Alexander was found near the blowhole at Blackman’s Bay 

The incident has renewed calls for better fencing and warning signs in the area, with Councillor Was saying the council was awaiting the coroner’s report into Maggie’s death before responding.

‘We are aware that we do have dangerous cliffs and of course we know that some accidents can occur,’ he said. 

‘We can’t fence it all and I’m sure the community wouldn’t want us to fence it all.’

He added that adding fences would not have prevented Alexander’s death, as he fell from a ‘natural part of the foreshore’ that is open to the water.