A group of Auckland teenagers, who videoed themselves dangerously climbing and sitting on the edge of Auckland CBD skyscrapers, have been criticised for their actions. Photo / TikTok
A group of Auckland teenagers, who videoed themselves dangerously climbing and sitting on the edge of Auckland CBD skyscrapers, have been criticised for their actions. Photo / TikTok
A group of Auckland teenagers, who videoed themselves dangerously climbing and sitting on the edge of Auckland CBD skyscrapers, have been criticised for their actions.
The daredevil teens videoed themselves on TikTok climbing some of Auckland's highest skyscrapers and building construction sites in June.
In the videos, the teens are seen teetering on the edge of buildings and steel bars from construction sites, dangling their legs off and looking hundreds of metres down to the concrete.
The teens warn in the TikTok videos that their stunts are the actions of "professionals".
Captions to the videos claim they are trained "professionals" while other video shows them performing their stunts in school uniforms.
A group of Auckland teenagers, who videoed themselves dangerously climbing and sitting on the edge of Auckland CBD skyscrapers, have been criticised for their actions. Photo / TikTok
When met with criticism online and questioned about the major risks, the person running the TikTok account responded, writing: "Not that high of a risk. Reward is thrill."
They encouraged others to not wrap kids in "cotton wool".
The teens, some wearing school uniform, are seen dangling hundreds of metres over Auckland's CBD. Photo / TikTok
A police spokesperson told the Herald the stunts are highly dangerous and they strongly discourage anyone attempting such activities.
"Police would obviously discourage anyone partaking in such an activity for the safety risks and danger involved and we would investigate if we had any complaints from building owners [and could look at trespassing individuals].
"We ask anyone who has concerns for someone's safety to contact 111 immediately."
A building wash professional, who is an expert in safety, told Stuff the teens' actions are "very unsafe" and that they should be using harnesses.
"It's a matter of time before one of those jokers falls and dies. It's not worth it."
The Herald has approached Auckland Mayor Phil Goff for comment.
It's not the first time a group of daredevils have taken to the Auckland CBD's skyscrapers.
In 2020, two men filmed themselves risking their lives by scaling the Pacifica building in downtown Auckland, which is the second tallest in Auckland at 178 metres.
At the time, police slammed their actions, saying they were putting their lives and the lives of others at risk.
Video of the stunt was posted to Instagram and shows the pair walking on top of the building and dangling from the scaffolding.
The men hung from the scaffolding. Photo / Instagram / codyf_24_
"I wish I could describe the complexity and process of becoming fearless," one of the men boldly stated in a caption attached to the video.
"Danger might be real but fear is a choice, all of the fears we don't face quickly become our limits."
He teasingly warned users not to watch the video "if you have anxiety".
"Love you bro so don't you dare let go," wrote one person on Instagram, while another simply added: "Nope, nope, nope".
"Anyone carrying out this activity is not only putting their own lives and others at risk but also risk getting arrested," they said.
The 57-level Pacifica apartments building are still under construction. Photo / Alex Robertson
When questioned about how the pair got onto the site, the construction chief for the building, Dan Ashby, told the Herald at the time: "The site team have appropriate security measures in place, including fulltime night security on-site and a lock-up procedure.
"We do not yet know how that was breached and are currently investigating to identify when and how it happened."
He stressed that safety for his workers was paramount.
Consider the consequences, mayor warns
Auckland mayor Phil Goff says it is concerning that the young people in the footage were putting themselves at risk and added that they need to consider the potential consequences of what they are doing.
"There have been deaths documented due to people doing stunts like this on social media and the last thing we want is a similar tragedy happening in Auckland.
"My message to anybody engaging in this sort of risky behaviour is to think of the terrible toll it would take on you, your family and friends if something goes wrong."
