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A suicidal man dressed in black scaled a 10-foot fence and leaped to his death from the Empire State Building's 86th-floor observation deck, horrifying holiday tourists yesterday morning.
"I saw a man near me push his kids out of the way and say, 'Look out!'" said Keith Whatley, one of many tourists who watched the man plunge 1,000 feet.
"I looked up and I saw the guy falling," said Whatley, 35, a real estate agent from Atlanta who was standing in line outside the Art Deco landmark. "He was laying flat on his back, like he was sleeping on a bed in the air, and he was kind of spinning."
Whatley said he stood there "mesmerized" for several seconds until the man hit a sixth-floor roof and was instantly killed.
"There was a loud bang," he said. "It was awful."
The tragedy unfolded at 10:15 when the landmark skyscraper's deck was crowded with people. The unidentified victim hurled himself toward the fence without a word, cops said.
He pushed off from a wall and sprinted at the tall barrier, which curves inward at its top to prevent people from climbing over, witnesses said.
Pausing briefly on the ledge, he stared at the observation deck and then he opened his arms wide and fell backward.
"He just ran, climbed over and jumped," said a shaken North Carolina woman. "It happened so fast, no one could stop him. I thought this can't be real. They must be filming a movie."
The victim, who was wearing a black coat, black pants, black shoes and white socks, carried no identification, and left behind no note saying who he was or why he was bent on self-destruction, police said.
"He kind of shimmied up and went over," a police official said. "A security guard attempted to grab him as he was going over the fence but couldn't reach him."
Investigators were reviewing video from a security camera that caught the jump on film.
The Empire State Building was closed to visitors for three hours while cops interviewed witnesses and the medical examiner removed the body.
But tourists determined to see the cityscape from its highest point braved the chill and stayed on line.
"It's bad luck for us," said Matthew Kirby, 14, of Herndon, Va., who was on line with his parents and brother.
Building management had no comment except to say they were "very saddened" by the incident.With Mila Andre
Since it opened in 1931, the Empire State Building has been a lure for those seeking to take their own lives.
"I saw a man near me push his kids out of the way and say, 'Look out!'" said Keith Whatley, one of many tourists who watched the man plunge 1,000 feet.
"I looked up and I saw the guy falling," said Whatley, 35, a real estate agent from Atlanta who was standing in line outside the Art Deco landmark. "He was laying flat on his back, like he was sleeping on a bed in the air, and he was kind of spinning."
Whatley said he stood there "mesmerized" for several seconds until the man hit a sixth-floor roof and was instantly killed.
"There was a loud bang," he said. "It was awful."
The tragedy unfolded at 10:15 when the landmark skyscraper's deck was crowded with people. The unidentified victim hurled himself toward the fence without a word, cops said.
He pushed off from a wall and sprinted at the tall barrier, which curves inward at its top to prevent people from climbing over, witnesses said.
Pausing briefly on the ledge, he stared at the observation deck and then he opened his arms wide and fell backward.
"He just ran, climbed over and jumped," said a shaken North Carolina woman. "It happened so fast, no one could stop him. I thought this can't be real. They must be filming a movie."
The victim, who was wearing a black coat, black pants, black shoes and white socks, carried no identification, and left behind no note saying who he was or why he was bent on self-destruction, police said.
"He kind of shimmied up and went over," a police official said. "A security guard attempted to grab him as he was going over the fence but couldn't reach him."
Investigators were reviewing video from a security camera that caught the jump on film.
The Empire State Building was closed to visitors for three hours while cops interviewed witnesses and the medical examiner removed the body.
But tourists determined to see the cityscape from its highest point braved the chill and stayed on line.
"It's bad luck for us," said Matthew Kirby, 14, of Herndon, Va., who was on line with his parents and brother.
Building management had no comment except to say they were "very saddened" by the incident.With Mila Andre
Since it opened in 1931, the Empire State Building has been a lure for those seeking to take their own lives.
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