Cebu City: Health woes push man to jump off bridge, survives

Victim lands in river with knee-deep water, injures legs, head

Cebu City

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Due to health problems, a 19-year-old man jumped off the Guadalupe Bridge in an apparent suicide attempt in Barangay Capitol Site on Monday morning, September 9, 2024

The man, who is a resident of a Cebu City barangay, survived the fall from the estimated 10 to 15 feet high bridge.

That is according to Police Captain Mark Eric Papong, chief of Abellana Police Station 2, who gave the estimate as to how high the bridge was from the river below.

The victim injured his feet, head and other parts of his body after he landed on the riverbed as the river at that time only had knee-deep water.

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According to Papong, the victim was a resident of Barangay Guadalupe in Cebu City.

The incident happened between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. today, September 9, and the injured victim was discovered at the bottom of the bridge at around 6 a.m. of the same day by a resident in the area.

The injured victim was found leaning on the bottom of the riprap at the side the river

The resident, who found him gave him food and contacted authorities and emergency rescue responders, who brought the victim to the hospital.

According to the victim’s cousin, that the victim had allegedly been experiencing anxiety due to his health problems.

“Naa daw siyay anxiety, iyang ig-agaw nag-ingon, kay naa daw siyay health problem nga nag-led sa iyang anxiety,” Police Captain Papong said.

(His cousin was suffering allegedly from anxiety due to his health problems which were the cause of his anxiety.)

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Papong added that the victim was still admitted at Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) as of this writing as he was still recuperating from his injuries when he landed on the knee-deep river.=

Earlier, in an interview with DYSS Super Radyo GMA, Jonas Labra, who was the first to see abd help the victim, said that when he approached the man, the victim asked for food and water.

“Gihatagan lang nako ug skyflakes sir kay pobre ra man ta,” Labra said.

(I gave crackers because that is the only thing I can afford since I am poor.)

The victim, hailed from a northern town in the province of Cebu, but he was staying at his aunt’s house in Brgy. Guadalupe in Cebu City. | clorenciana and dsingson

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*Those facing huge personal problems or experiencing extreme sadness can reach out to and call Tawag Paglaum Centro Bisaya if they need someone to talk to. Tawag Paglaum Centro Bisaya is a 24/7 call-based hotline for suicide prevention and emotional crisis intervention established in Cebu. Anyone in Central Visayas experiencing a mental disorder relapse or suicidal thoughts may reach the hotline at 0939-936-5433 or 0927-654-1629.*