A 33-year-old man taking part in a rappelling event on the facade of the Sustainable Development Centre downtown fell five storeys to his death on Saturday morning, with a horrified crowd looking on below.
"Two guys were just testing the [safety equipment]," witness Marie-Julie Labbé told CJAD 800 News. "It happened in seconds, it was so fast."
Paramedics were called shortly after 10 a.m. to the building on Ste-Catherine St. near Clark St.
The man, later identified as an employee for the Montreal-based climbing company Décalade, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Urgences Santé spokesman Stephane Smith.
He was participating in preparations for a décalade event—described as rappelling but where one makes a controlled descent facing toward the ground. It was put on as a fundraising event by Amnesty international's Canadian francophone division, but was cancelled following the incident.
Two people in the crowd were taken to hospital to be treated for shock and several more were treated at the scene, Smith with Urgences Santé added.
Marie-Julie Labbé was there looking to take part in the rappelling event with her young children, who both witnessed the deadly fall unfold right before their eyes.
"If I had the choice, I would erase that from their memory. I wish they did not see it, or hear it," she said.
In a statement, the human rights group said the accident occurred before the fundraiser started and the victim worked for the company in charge of the event.
"We deplore a major accident that occurred this morning at the Maison du developpement durable," read a joint statement from Amnesty International and the Sustainable Development Centre.
"A member of the team of Decalade, the company in charge of the activity, lost his life."