Emergency operation in Gold Coast as man scales crane and refuses to come down

A semi-naked man has climbed to the top of a construction crane on the Gold Coast, triggering a major emergency response.

Emergency services were called to The Esplanade in Burleigh Heads just after 6am on Wednesday following reports a man only wearing underwear had scaled the towering crane at a construction worksite. 

Witnesses told the Today show that the man was carrying what appeared to be a bed sheet when he climbed the structure. 

Police established an exclusion zone around the construction site, closing the busy beachside thoroughfare and nearby roads, as specialist negotiators raced to the scene. 

Three Queensland Ambulance crews also remain on scene. 

The man remains high up the crane and is refusing to communicate with specialist negotiators trying to coax him down.

‘A small section of the Esplanade has been closed while emergency services attend to the incident, and motorists are advised to seek an alternate route,’ a police spokeswoman told the Daily Mail.

‘There is no further information at this time.’

More to come.