Sydney BASE Jumpers Busted

Police were driving along George Street near the intersection of Liverpool Street about 3.10am when a man in a parachute landed a short distance from their car, police said.

A short time later they watched as a second jumper landed on the other side of the road.

Australian BASE Association president Gary Cunningham did not know who the jumpers were. "If you're doing something illegal, why would you publicise it?" he said.

"Jumping from anywhere is quite exciting. In Australia it's quite hard to get permission to jump off anything really, so some people will jump wherever they can."

BASE jumping from towers in Australia was not that common, said Mr Cunningham, who has jumped from towers overseas.

"Standing on the edge of the building they'd have been checking everything was OK, that the conditions and the landing were clear. They'd have been very anxious while they were on top.

"As soon as you step off, you know whether you've nailed it - if it was a good launch and a stable exit.

"The excitement builds up from there. You step into this void where everything is quiet and silent. As you fall, the air flow picks up and it gets louder and louder.

"Then you activate the parachute and 'bang', the parachute opens and you control the landing.

"I guess it's unlucky that police happened to be there."