Student stunt tragic

A student has a serious spinal fracture after leaping off a twostorey house as a stunt to join a university committee. The 20-year-old man had lit his hair on fire and landed in an inflatable paddling pool. A spectator filmed the plunge at a Christchurch property. The video was to be played at the Canterbury University Engineering Society (ENSOC) annual meeting on Tuesday. ENSOC’s guidelines state a filmed stunt is a requirement for candidates hoping to join the committee. The 20-year-old remains in hospital. His flatmates said he was not drinking that night. The water in the paddling pool was about 1 metre deep. ‘‘He went a bit too far and just kind of hit the side [of the pool] . . . it was pretty tragic,’’ one said. According to the society’s guidelines for potential candidates, nominees were required to notify an adjudicator of the content of the stunt prior to their filming. The form says stunts that involve serious injury to the candidate or anyone else won’t be accepted. It also asks candidates to consider: ‘‘Are there likely to be serious long-term consequences from my stunt?’’