Between 1937 and 2012, an estimated 1,400 bodies were recovered of people who had jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge, located in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.[1]
In 2013, 118 potential jumpers were talked down from their attempts and did not jump.[2] As of 2013[update], it is estimated that 34 people have survived after jumping.[3] Some die instantly from internal injuries, while others drown or die of hypothermia.[4] People who have survived the jump have had severe consequences including paralysis, organ damage, broken bones and lifelong pain. Most think that jumping will lead to an instant death but for many death is not instant.[5]
A number of measures are in place to discourage people from jumping, including telephone hotlines and patrols by emergency personnel and bridge workers. Although it had previously been considered impractical to build a suicide barrier, in 2014, the bridge's directors approved a proposal for a net below the bridge's deck, extending out either side, rather than side barriers at the railings as had long been proposed.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
LAtimess2011was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Justin Worland (June 27, 2014). "The Golden Gate Bridge Is Getting Its First Suicide Nets". Time Inc. Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
In 2013, 46 people committed suicide by jumping off the bridge, while another 118 were talked down.
- ^ Lucas, Scott (July 18, 2013). "Kevin Hines Is Still Alive". Modern Luxury. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
- ^ Edward Guthmann (October 30, 2005). "Lethal Beauty". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on May 25, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
- ^ "The other side of suicide". OnScene Bondi. January 26, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.