EXTRA
A man dressed as Santa has fallen over 70 metres to his death in Russia, as children watched on in horror.
The man, who was an experienced climber, dressed up as the Russian version of Santa in the town of Chelyabinsk, where he climbed down a block of apartments to surprise the children.
However, the stunt went horrifically wrong, as he fell from the 24th floor to his death — as children and adults watched on in horror as they gathered in front of a Christmas tree outside the building.
Reports in the town say that the man dressed as Santa mixed up his safety ropes which led to his tragic death, while the children didn’t see his body as he landed one floor above the ground on a structure that was covered in snow.
Various local news sources say that eyewitnesses thought it was part of the act at first, and while some children didn’t understand what happened, others fled the scene in hysterics.
