Another jumper off Van Standens Bridge

I wonder how many people changed their minds half way down
 
Syndyre said:
The main part isn't but maybe the rest of it is?
Click to expand...
It's certainly not "significantly coloured".. I suppose it's possible that they represent the largest portion of the population, but 90% sounds far too high to me.. I've never bothered to take a census.. :D
As to substance abuse, I can't say that I've ever noticed anything to indicate that it's any higher than any other town .. but yea, maybe it only happens at night or something.. ;)
 
my high school class mate jumped off that bridge. It was not too long after matric if I remember correctly. She was in the top of her class, had lots of friends and was apparently engaged.
it came to a huge shock to all of us.
to this day i dont know why she jumped.
 
redarrow said:
It's certainly not "significantly coloured".. I suppose it's possible that they represent the largest portion of the population, but 90% sounds far too high to me.. I've never bothered to take a census.. :D
As to substance abuse, I can't say that I've ever noticed anything to indicate that it's any higher than any other town .. but yea, maybe it only happens at night or something.. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm not really sure, my interaction with it is limited to accelerating through it and occasionally stopping at the garage. :D
 
Syndyre said:
Yeah I'm not really sure, my interaction with it is limited to accelerating through it and occasionally stopping at the garage. :D
Click to expand...
:D
Well I actually stop there for half a day at least twice a year on work.. ;)


On the jumping story, I actually heard of a jumper once who was not killed, just some broken limbs.. - can't quite remember the details.
 
redarrow said:
On the jumping story, I actually heard of a jumper once who was not killed, just some broken limbs.. - can't quite remember the details.
Click to expand...

:eek: I'm surprised that's possible, must be quite depressing though, people probably assume its a sure thing.
 
kevinswan007 said:
my high school class mate jumped off that bridge. It was not too long after matric if I remember correctly. She was in the top of her class, had lots of friends and was apparently engaged.
it came to a huge shock to all of us.
to this day i dont know why she jumped.
Click to expand...
She probably had depression. People who don't have real depression don't understand the condition and make fun of it. They think that you are just a little blue, they compare it to how they feel when they're down. They call people who commit suicide cowards, and feel that they have the right to judge you even if they know nothing about you or your life.

Real depression isn't that simple, and people who suffer from it rarely ever speak about it exactly because people imagine you can think it away, or just be more positive. In reality that's like trying to think away scurvy instead of taking vitamin c.

Oh and often you won't detect that depressed people actually are depressed. We rarely talk about it and we learn to fake emotions that we don't feel. Muahahahaha.
 
Bridge claims 67 death

Woman jumps to death while on phone to sister

Derrick Spies DEPUTY CHIEF REPORTER

A WOMAN who was talking to her sister on a cellphone when she jumped, became the second person to die at the Van Stadens “Bridge of Death” this week.

Police spokesman Superintendent Priscilla Naidu said Natalie Camons, 40, from Mosel in Uitenhage, jumped from the bridge at around midnight on Wednesday.

Her death brought the total number of recorded suicide deaths from the bridge to 67.

“She parked her car on the bridge and called her sister on her cellphone and was apparently still on the phone when she jumped,” Naidu said yesterday.

Police from the Thornhill station had rushed to the scene but it was too dark for them to find the body.

Police, along with the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality‘s disaster management services and the Kouga municipality‘s traffic department, began operations to recover the body at around 6.30am yesterday.

The traffic department blocked off one lane of traffic on the bridge, heading towards Port Elizabeth, while members of the police search and rescue and Uitenhage dog units prepared to recover the body.

Naidu said Inspector Paul Franks and his dog, Sheba, had located Camon‘s body. Sheba was then hoisted up out of the ravine and a body stretcher lowered into the dense thicket.

“The body was recovered at around 10.10am.”

Naidu said this was the second time that Camons had been on the bridge. Police had helped her off some time last year.

Camons was apparently divorced and left behind a daughter, aged 12, she said.

The family declined to be interviewed when contacted yesterday.

On Monday, Petrus Trompetter, 28, from Humansdorp, also jumped to his death from the bridge.

When The Herald team was on the scene, the lifeline phones were not working, but Telkom technicians were seen working on the line.

Naidu said the phones were linked to an alarm in the Thornhill police station.

“If someone picks up the phone an alarm rings in the station and police can check the CCTV cameras on the bridge to see if it is a hoax call or not.”

Naidu said the cameras had been upgraded to infrared, to allow police to see what was happening at night, but said the police were battling with their maintenance as their main sponsor had withdrawn.

If you are feeling depressed or are considering suicide, contact Lifeline in Port Elizabeth on 041-3738666 or on their national number 0861322322.
 
Bridge of death‘ claims another victim

Sbongile Dimbaza HERALD REPORTER

AS the Van Stadens “bridge of death” claimed its third victim in as many weeks, there is still no clarity on who is responsible for stopping the deaths.

A 25-year-old man from Hankey jumped from the bridge on Wednesday, bringing the number of deaths from the structure to 68 since it was opened in 1971.

Police spokesman Superintendent Priscilla Naidu said Sonwabo Solani was travelling with his younger brother and father when he told his father to stop because he was feeling nauseous. His father stopped near the bridge and Solani got out of the car.

“When his brother went to check on him, he answered to his name. The teenager saw his brother seated on the railing on the bridge and called his father. The father got out of the car to investigate and saw his son fall off the bridge – clad only in his pants and socks. He had taken off his shirt and jersey. He apparently had a history of mental instability,” said Naidu.

Yesterday at 6.30am, during a police search, Inspector Jaco Potgieter‘s dog, Rock, found Solani‘s body wedged between rocks at the bottom of the bridge.

On June 17, Petrus Trompetter, 28, from Humansdorp, also jumped to his death from the bridge.

A day later, Natalie Camons, 40, from Mosel in Uitenhage, was talking to her sister on a cellphone when she jumped.

Naidu said the lifeline phones at the bridge were linked to an alarm in the Thornhill police station and that it would take two minutes for police to drive there if they needed to attend to a call at the bridge.

“If someone picks up the phone an alarm rings in the station and police can check the CCTV cameras on the bridge to see if it is a hoax call or not. On Wednesday, the police did pick up a white spot on the cameras showing that there was a person there. Unfortunately, they could not find anything when they went to investigate.”

According to Naidu, traffic police were responsible for ensuring an official was permanently stationed at the bridge.

Traffic and licensing services spokesman Luncedo Njezula said due to chronic staff shortages it was “impossible to provide this service”.

Instead, Njezula said all emergency services should be on the lookout and monitor the area.

http://www.epherald.co.za/herald/news/n06_04072008.htm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X