Jacque St Ann, 17, and his friends broke into Plaza Tower and he fell as they were descending an interior staircase

A high school student recently fell to his death after entering an abandoned high-rise tower in downtown New Orleans with his friends – in an apparent case of urban exploration highlighting the dangers of unaddressed city blight.

New Orleans police said Jacque St Ann, 17, and his friends, of the nearby community of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, traveled into the city and broke into the fenced-off, 45-story Plaza Tower in the central business district, which has stood derelict for years.