Woman jumped off Empire State Building at 1,050ft drop and miraculously lived to tell the tale

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.

A woman survived after jumping from the observation deck at the Empire State Building.

On December 2 1979, Elvita Adams made her way to the iconic Empire State Building in New York City and purchased a ticket for the observation deck.

At around 8.30pm she arrived at the 86th floor deck some 1,050ft above the ground.

There she evaded security, climbed over a protective fence, and jumped.

Adams had been facing enormous struggles in her life which had become so bad that she made the tragic attempt to end her life.

From that height most suicide attempts, such as the one made by Adams, would have resulted in instant death.

But by a remarkable set of circumstances, Adams survived the fall and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

There she was found to have a broken hip, and was also sent for a psychiatric assessment following the ordeal.

But how did she manage to survive the fall?

The Empire State Building is an icon of New York's skyline (Bettmann / Contributor / Getty)

While Adams had leapt from the 1,050ft height, she didn't end up falling all the way to the pavement below.

By an incredible coincidence a draft of wind caught Adams shortly after she jumped.

This pushed her onto one of the many ledges on the Empire State Building, with the 29-year-old landing on a ledge just one floor below the observation deck.

This was located around 20ft below the deck she had jumped from.

She was spotted on the ledge by a security officer in the building who called for help, with the night supervisor at the observatory George Reice saying that a guard heard calls for help at around 8.15pm.

The Empire State Building was completed in 1931 (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)

Others rushed to help and Adams was pulled back inside to safety and rushed to Bellevue hospital.

It was due to the combination of the draft of wind and the building's art deco architecture which featured many ledges and setbacks that Adams was able to survive the ordeal.

A report in the New York Times said that no one saw Adams jump, and that 'ordinarily four guards patrol the 86th-floor observation deck'.

The report also said that deck is surrounded by an eight-foot-tall fence with iron spikes.

This had been put in place thanks to previous suicide attempts from the deck.

It's not known what happened to Adams after her survival.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.

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