Onlookers were shocked to see a prisoner make a dramatic escape from a hospital’s detention unit by climbing several storeys down an external pipe while wearing just his underwear.
Damon Anderson, who was shirtless and appeared to be also barefoot, was captured on film sliding down a rectangular pipe on the outside wall of Waikato Hospital in the New Zealand northern city of Hamilton on Monday.
He remained at large on Tuesday.
Anderson, a remand prisoner from Spring Hill Corrections Facility, can be seen sliding down four storeys and after taking a short break on the first floor window ledge he eventually manages to clamber his way to ground.
Once on the ground Anderson appears to be in no hurry initially as he strolls away but then breaks into a jog as he leaves the hospital grounds.
Although Anderson is not considered a risk to the public police have warned anyone who sees him not to approach but to call them.
Spring Hill Corrections Facility general manager Scott Walker said Anderson was wearing handcuffs and a GPS monitor when he escaped.
However, video footage and witness reports suggest Anderson was not handcuffed during his acrobatic escape.
An unnamed witness said it was ‘shocking’ to see a person climb down the building.
‘It was scary. That is a huge, tall building, the said.
‘If he fell down, he would have died.’
The witness also told the New Zealand Herald Anderson was seen walking through the hospital without handcuffs, only wearing his underwear just minutes before absconding.
‘Before that he was actually walking through the second floor of the building in his undies without any handcuffs,’ the witness said.
Many of the staff witnessed this a few minutes before he was seen escaping.’
Anderson allegedly escaped through a window on the eighth floor of the building where the hospital has a custody unit.
However, the witness said hospital staff seemed unaware Anderson was a prisoner.
‘There’s a mental health facility next door, so we thought he was a client from there. We didn’t realise it was a prisoner until about 30 minutes after he escaped,’ the witness said,
‘We were ringing the mental health facility, letting them know that a potential client of theirs was scaling the building, but they hadn’t had anyone escape from there.
A Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora spokesperson said it had ‘robust systems and processes’ in place at its hospitals to help keep patients and staff safe.
‘We are working closely with NZ Police and Corrections to help prevent similar incidents from occurring again,’ the spokesperson said.