Teen Dies After Jumping Off Hudson Yards' Vessel In Front His Family

KEY POINTS

A 14-year-old boy jumped off the eighth floor of the Hudson Yards' Vessel installation and died
The death is the fourth reported suicide at The Vessel since it opened in March 2019
An investigation is ongoing and the structure has been shut down after the incident

A 14-year-old boy jumped to his death from the Hudson Yards' Vessel attraction Thursday afternoon in front of his family, police said.

The teenager — whose name was not disclosed — leaped off the eighth floor of the 150-foot Manhattan, New York installation located near West 33rd Street and 10th Avenue at around 12:50 p.m., the New York Daily News reported.

Authorities pronounced him dead just before 1 p.m., according to a report by NBC 4 New York.

"We are heartbroken by this tragedy and our thoughts are with the family of the young person who lost their life," Hudson Yards spokeswoman Kimberly Winston was quoted as saying in a statement.

"We are conducting a full investigation. The Vessel is currently closed," she added.

The New Jersey teen was visiting with his parents, sister and grandmother at the time of the incident and said nothing before he jumped, a report by The New York Post said. His family had declined to comment.

The teenager's death had been the fourth suicide at the midtown structure in 18 months and the first since it reopened to the public in May with new rules for access and a ticket fee, as per NBC 4 New York.

Officials had closed the Vessel in January after a 21-year-old man jumped from the attraction and died — it was the third reported suicide at the attraction since it opened in early 2019. The first death was of a 19-year-old in February 2020, while the second incident involved a 24-year-old woman and it happened in December of the same year.

The Vessel's security had been tripled when it reopened and guards were trained to identify suicidal behavior, the New York Daily News said. Suicide prevention information had also been posted on the tickets as well as throughout the installation, according to a spokesman for The Related Companies, the Hudson Yards developer who funded the project.

"We thought we did everything that would really prevent this," The Related Companies chairman Stephen Ross was quoted as saying by the The New York Post. "It’s hard to really fathom how something like that could happen."

The recent suicide has Ross mulling over whether to shut down the Vessel permanently, the outlet said.