Teenager dies after falling in abandoned high-rise tower in New Orleans

Jacque St Ann, 17, and his friends broke into Plaza Tower and he fell as they were descending an interior staircase A high school student recently fell to his death after entering an abandoned high-rise tower in downtown New Orleans with his friends – in an apparent case of urban exploration highlighting the dangers of unaddressed city blight. New Orleans police said Jacque St Ann, 17, and his friends, of the nearby community of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, traveled into the city and broke into the fenced-off, 45-story Plaza Tower in the central business district, which has stood derelict for years. They ascended to a higher floor at about midnight on 15 August – and Jacque fell to his death as they tried to descend an interior staircase. Citing respect for Jacque’s family, police declined to say from what floor he fell. Local paramedics pronounced Jacque dead at the scene.

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