Recently in Wuhan, there were two bridge-jumping incidents in a single day, one from the Parrot Island Bridge and the other from the Yangtze River Bridge, drawing attention from netizens.
As reported by the “Xiaoxiang Morning Post” on August 20, several citizens of Wuhan, Hubei Province, were seen jumping off bridges on the night of the 19th.
Multiple videos showed rescue boats searching in the river, while many onlookers were gathered on the shore. The videos were geotagged in Wuhan, Hubei.
In response to this, the Yangtze River Maritime Authority confirmed that on the 19th, there were two reports of bridge jumping in Wuhan, one at the Parrot Island Bridge and the other at the Yangtze River Bridge, stating that “one person was rescued, while the other is still being searched for.”
According to a netizen’s video post, “The person who hasn’t been rescued yet is an employee of China Mobile.” To prevent further bridge jumping incidents, “for the past few days, Wuhan’s rescue teams have been patrolling under every bridge at night, taking photos to inspect, and there are also community members standing guard on the bridges.”
The incident sparked heated discussions online.
Many netizens from Hubei expressed, “The pressure of life in Wuhan is too much.” “Wuhan’s wages are too low, yet the cost of living is the highest in the country.” “I have been working for over two years since graduating as a postgraduate student and haven’t bought much. I only saved a little over sixty thousand. This is still far from being able to afford a house and get married.” “Today, a colleague at work said they are starting to worry about not living to retirement.” “Yesterday morning in Wuhan’s Hanyang district, an elderly lady jumped off a building.” “This evening (22nd), a young lady around 94 years old jumped into the river? I saw her Moments on WeChat, feeling heartbroken, hoping it’s not true.” “My previous department manager jumped off the Second Bridge. He was a positive and optimistic person, but had accumulated a lot of debt due to starting a business.”
“In our Xinyang City, Gushi County, the Seven-One Bridge is always crowded. I usually avoid crossing that bridge, and it’s become a famous bridge-jumping spot.” “There will be more jumpers in the future, especially after losing jobs and being unable to pay mortgage.”
Some netizens offered consoling words, saying, “Besides life and death, everything else is trivial. If one is not afraid of death, what else is there to fear?”