Staff error likely cause for TV tower tragedy

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This Saturday served a serious accident at Tallinn TV tower as two ladies adventure-descending by rope dropped from 20 metres. The police thinks the cause may have been miscommunication between people employed to service the entertainment.

«Initial information says this was a slip by the staff in the company that organises the rope descent,» said Valdo Põder of Northern prefecture. «What our people found at the site it may have been a communication glitch between the staff who let people down from the platform and the ones supposed to receive them, wherefore they overly loosened the rope. We are currently concluding the two ladies went not into free fall, but thankfully the rope supported them to a degree,» he added. 

On Saturday, Tallinn TV tower director Riina Roosipuu was reluctant to suggest anything. «At the moment, there was no time to start finding anything out. We were busy assisting the victims and supporting their friends, so I would rather not speculate,» she said.

The police is continuing its investigations.

At 6:40 pm on Saturday, Alarm Centre was notified of two Finnish ladies having fallen from about 20 metres while descending from TV tower by ropes. The ambulance took the ladies, aged 28 and 36, to hospital.

The same evening, the victims were able to leave hospital. «Luckily, none was severely injured so late at night both were allowed home,» Northern prefecture press representative Martin Luige told Postimees. One had a broken bone, the other escaped with scratches and a shock.

Till the facts are clarified, the extreme-descending of TV tower by rope is cancelled.

The «rappelling» begins at the platform edge at 175 metre height – Northern Europe’s highest open sightseeing platform.

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