List of suicide locations

Suicide
Social aspects
Crisis
Types
Epidemiology
History
In warfare
Related phenomena
By country
Organizations
The Luminous Veil on Toronto's Prince Edward Viaduct prevents people from jumping from that bridge, but has not been shown to affect overall citywide jumping suicide rates.

The following is a list of current and historic sites frequently chosen to attempt suicide, usually by jumping. Some of the sites listed have installed suicide barriers, signs advising potential suicides to take other actions, and other precautions, such as crisis hotline phones.

Exact numbers of victims are sometimes difficult to determine, as many jurisdictions and media agencies have ceased collecting statistics and reporting suicides at common sites, in the belief that the reporting may encourage others.[citation needed]

Most frequently used locations[edit]

Locations by continent[edit]

Africa[edit]

Site City Region Country Notes and references
Ponte Apartment Building Johannesburg Gauteng  South Africa [10]
Van Stadens Bridge - Eastern Cape  South Africa 88 suicides since construction in 1971.[11]
Cairo Tower Cairo Cairo Governorate  Egypt

Asia[edit]

The Mapo Bridge in Seoul, South Korea has been nicknamed "Suicide Bridge" and "The Bridge of Death" due to its frequent usage as a suicide hotspot amidst South Korea's ongoing suicide epidemic.
Site City Region Country Notes and references
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge Nanjing Jiangsu  China Over 2,000 suicides since 1968, ~50/year.[citation needed]
Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge Wuhan Hubei  China 24.7 suicides per year[12]
Hussain Sagar Hyderabad Telangana  India [13][14]
Delhi Metro Delhi Delhi  India at least 83 suicides[15]
Rabindra Sarobar metro station Kolkata West Bengal  India [16]
Milad Tower Tehran Tehran  Iran Until 2012, three suicides occurred by persons jumping from Milad Tower.
Tehran Metro Tehran Tehran  Iran
Aokigahara forest - Yamanashi  Japan up to 105 suicides a year[7]
Mount Mihara Ōshima Tokyo  Japan An active volcano on the island of Izu Ōshima. After a suicide in 1933, media reports led to hundreds of copycats until 1936, when access was restricted.[17]
Shin-Koiwa Station Tokyo Tokyo  Japan [citation needed]
Tojinbo, Japan Sakai Fukui  Japan [citation needed]
Mapo Bridge Seoul Gyeonggi Province  South Korea [18][19]
Han River - -  South Korea [20][21]

Europe[edit]

A sign at a railroad crossing in the Netherlands promoting a suicide crisis line (113)
Site City Region Country Notes and references
Nusle Bridge Prague Czech Republic  Czechia At least 365 deaths.[22]
Archway Bridge London London  England [23]
Beachy Head - East Sussex  England 20 suicides a year[24]
Clifton Suspension Bridge Bristol South West England  England More than 500 suicides since opening in 1864. Suicide barriers were installed in 1998, which halved the suicide rate over the years following.[25]
Humber Bridge Kingston-upon-Hull East Riding of Yorkshire  England More than 200 incidents of people jumping or falling from the bridge took place in the first 26 years after it opened in 1981.[26]
London Underground London London  England ~50 attempts annually[27]
The Monument London London  England Was the site of six suicides between 1788 and 1842, when the gallery was enclosed by an iron cage to prevent such misfortunes occurring again.[28]
Türisalu cliff Türisalu Harju County  Estonia [29]
Paris Métro Paris  France 20 to 40 deaths per year.[30]
Göltzsch Viaduct Reichenbach im Vogtland Saxony  Germany Exemplary attraction for attempting suicide in Germany,[31] under continued supervision by the Federal Police,[32] scene of a 2001 suicide pact that led to the 2002 documentary Teuflische Spiele (Diabolical Games).[33]
Kocher Viaduct Schwäbisch Hall Baden-Württemberg  Germany Highest bridge in the country. A suicide barrier was installed on the bridge after an unusually high 48 suicides between 1979 and 1990.[34]
Cliffs of Moher - County Clare  Ireland Four prevented suicides in 2008[35]
Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge Luxembourg City -  Luxembourg More than 100 suicides since opening in 1966. Since 1993, a Plexiglas barrier has prevented people from jumping off the bridge and falling on top of the houses below.[36]
Foyle Bridge Derry County Londonderry  Northern Ireland More than 90 suicides since 1984[37]
Karmsund Bridge Rogaland  Norway Estimated 25 suicides.[citation needed]
25 de Abril Bridge Lisbon Lisbon  Portugal [38]
Erskine Bridge Erskine East Renfrewshire  Scotland [citation needed]
Forth Road Bridge - Edinburgh  Scotland Estimated over 20 suicides a year – more than 800 since the bridge opened in 1964*[citation needed]
Segovia Viaduct Madrid Madrid  Spain Colloquially called the suicide bridge, starting from the 17th century until the 1990s, when it saw fatal falls at an average of one a week. A barrier was erected in 1998.[39]
Älvsborg Bridge Gothenburg Västra Götaland  Sweden [40]
Västerbron Stockholm Stockholm  Sweden [41][42]
Bosphorus Bridge Istanbul Marmara  Turkey [43]
Southerndown - Vale of Glamorgan  Wales Well-known in the local area for suicides; at least 9 between 2000 and 2003.[44]

North America[edit]

Suicide hotline on the George Washington Memorial Bridge, Seattle, Washington
Site City Region Country Notes and references
Jacques Cartier Bridge Montreal  Quebec  Canada More than 143 suicides. Suicide barriers were erected in 2004.[45]
Prince Edward Viaduct Toronto  Ontario  Canada A suicide barrier was installed in 2003.
Toronto Subway Toronto  Ontario  Canada 150 people have killed themselves, and there have been an additional 100 attempts between 1998 and 2007.[46][47][48]
Niagara Falls -  Ontario/| New York  Canada/ United States Between 1856 and 1995 there were 2,780 known suicides; and there are 20 to 25 per year.[49]
Arrigoni Bridge Middletown  Connecticut  United States [50][51]
Colorado Street Bridge Pasadena  California  United States Has been the host of numerous falls/jumps starting as early as its construction, when a worker who had been drinking fell off the bridge into wet cement. It has hosted many suicides since, and a large barrier/fence has been installed to keep people from jumping.[citation needed]
Coronado Bridge (also known as San Diego–Coronado Bridge) San Diego  California  United States More than 200 suicides (1972–2000)[52]
Foresthill Bridge Auburn  California  United States Estimated 65 suicides since construction in 1973, actual number likely higher[53][54]
Golden Gate Bridge San Francisco  California  United States Official count halted at 997 to prevent "record breakers"[3][4]
Sunshine Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay  Florida  United States At least 264 suicides by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the new bridge in 1987. In response, the State of Florida installed crisis hotline phones and began 24-hour patrols.[55][56] The song "Skyway Avenue" by We The Kings is about two lovers who decide to jump to their deaths together from this bridge.[57]
George Washington Bridge New York City  New York/ New Jersey  United States It has been averaging around 10 suicides per year and a record 18 in 2012.[58][59] 18-year-old Tyler Clementi jumped from the bridge in 2010 after being cyberbullied.
Tappan Zee Bridge Tarrytown  New York  United States More than 30 suicides between 2002 and 2012; sometimes referred to as "the Golden Gate Bridge of the East"[60] This bridge was replaced in 2017 by a new twin span with fencing on its pedestrian/bicycle path to deter jumpers.
Vessel New York City  New York  United States In the less than two years that the Vessel was open to the public, four people jumped to their deaths.[61] After the first three deaths, some limited changes were made to prevent suicide.[62] Following the fourth death, however, the Vessel has been closed indefinitely.[63]
Vista Bridge Portland  Oregon  United States [64][65]
George Washington Memorial Bridge ("Aurora Bridge") Seattle  Washington  United States More than 230 suicides since 1932,[66] with more than 50 from 1997 to 2007[67]
New River Gorge Bridge Fayetteville  West Virginia  United States [68][69]
Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge Southern Maryland  Maryland  United States

Oceania[edit]

Free telephones linked to suicide prevention hotline installed at the Story Bridge footpath in Brisbane
Site City Region Country Notes and references
Echo Point Blue Mountains  New South Wales  Australia [70]
Grafton Bridge Auckland Auckland 78  New Zealand Suicide barriers were removed in 1996 after being in place for 60 years but replaced in 2003.[71]
Lawyer's Head Dunedin Otago  New Zealand [72]
Mooney Mooney Bridge Central Coast  New South Wales  Australia Because of its height (making it a known suicide bridge), a fence was erected in 2003 to deter people from jumping off. The fence costed around $1,000,000.[73]
Story Bridge Brisbane  Queensland  Australia Brisbane's Story Bridge is notorious for its suicides, having been compared to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.[74] Free telephones have been installed on the bridge, and the bridge also has a three-metre-high safety barrier.[75]
Sydney Harbour Bridge Sydney  New South Wales  Australia Although the bridge is not as well-known for suicides as many others in Australia, the bridge has had numerous suicides and incidents (intentional or not) that occur on the bridge usually lead in death.[76]
The Gap Sydney  New South Wales  Australia A large sea cliff. Roughly 50 suicides a year [9]
West Gate Bridge Melbourne  Victoria  Australia Had "up to one" suicide every three weeks.[77] Suicide rates on the bridge have dropped by 85% since prevention barriers were installed by the state government in 2009.

South America[edit]

Site City Region Country Notes and references
São Paulo Metro São Paulo São Paulo  Brazil The Metro, as other subway networks in Brazil, have a policy not to publicly disclose the number of suicides taking place in any given period to prevent further attempts
Third Bridge Vitória Espírito Santo  Brazil The construction of a suicide prevention net is currently being discussed by public authorities and the concessionary of the bridge.[78]
Costanera Center Santiago Santiago  Chile Dubbed as the "suicide mall", the fifth floor and the surrounding stairs had to be covered with large fences due to suicide rates.[79][80]
Viaducto García Cadena Bucaramanga Santander  Colombia [81]
Eduardo Villena Rey Bridge Lima Lima  Peru The bridge had to be covered with large windows due to suicide rates. The street under the bridge is believed to be haunted.[82]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 长江大桥成自杀圣地 专家建议装尼龙防护网 Archived 6 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Bateson, John (25 May 2012). "The Golden Gate Bridge's fatal flaw". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 18 October 2013. Since it opened on May 27, 1937, there have been an estimated 1,600 deaths in which the body was recovered
  3. ^ a b Bone, James (13 October 2008). "The Times" (ECE). New York. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
  4. ^ Melina, Remy (19 April 2011). "How Did Teen Survive Fall from Golden Gate Bridge?". Retrieved 23 November 2013.
  5. ^ "A barrier to hopeless souls". Baltimore Sun. 17 March 2014. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  6. ^ a b Lah, Kyung (19 March 2009). "Desperate Japanese head to 'suicide forest'". CNN.com/Asia. Retrieved 10 April 2012. 'Especially in March, the end of the fiscal year, more suicidal people will come here because of the bad economy,' he said. 'It's my dream to stop suicides in this forest, but to be honest, it would be difficult to prevent all the cases here.'
  7. ^ Adelstein, Jake (2 January 2018). "The YouTuber who filmed Japan's 'suicide forest' may have done something good". The Washington Post.
  8. ^ a b Turnball, Malcolm (24 March 2010). "Tragedy amid the beauty at The Gap". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Ponte City text / MIKHAEL SUBOTZKY ARCHIVE". www.subotzkystudio.com.
  10. ^ Basson, Monique (11 October 2012). "DA calling for safety measures". Kouga Express. Retrieved 15 October 2012.
  11. ^ 自杀的相关问题 Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine - 河北精神卫生，2001年
  12. ^ AuthorTelanganaToday. "Hussain Sagar turning into Suicide Sagar". Telangana Today. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  13. ^ Kumar, Naveen (27 February 2018). "Hyderabad: Sagar's low fence to blame for suicides". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  14. ^ "New Delhi: 83 suicides at Metro stations in last 4 years, reveals RTI query". The Indian Express. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  15. ^ "haunted rabindra sarobar station". 10 March 2018.
  16. ^ Ellis, Edward Robb; Allen, George N. (1961). Traitor within: our suicide problem. Doubleday. pp. 94–98. OCLC 445487.
  17. ^ "Bridge Signs Used in South Korea Anti-Suicide Efforts". Public Radio International.
  18. ^ "Seoul anti-suicide initiative backfires, deaths increase by more than six times". 26 February 2014.
  19. ^ Im, Jeong-yo (20 September 2016). "Suicide attempts at Han River on the rise: data". Korea Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  20. ^ "Seoul Stops Suicides from Han River Bridges With AI". Seoul Metropolitan Government. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
  21. ^ "Mladík (†25) skočil z "Nuseláku"". AHA.cz.
  22. ^ "Hornsey Lane Bridge Anti-Suicide Campaign". September 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
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  24. ^ "Effect of barriers on the Clifton suspension bridge". 6 June 2006.
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  26. ^ "TfL Freedom of Information request detail: Underground Suicide Data". 27 August 2017.
  27. ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1992). The London Encyclopaedia (reprint ed.). Macmillan. p. 542.
  28. ^ Jõgeda, Tiina (17 January 2008). "Türisalu pank – enesetaputuristide Meka". Eesti Ekspress (in Estonian). Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  29. ^ "INFOGRAPHIE – RATP : une trentaine de personnes meurent chaque année dans le métro ou le RER parisien". May 2014.
  30. ^ Proske, Dirk (2004). Katalog der Risiken: Risiken und ihre Darstellung (Risk catalogue: Risks and their representations). Dresden: Eigenverlag. P. 146. Chap. 1.5: Soziale Risiken (Social risks), paragraph 1.5.1: Suizide (Suicide).
  31. ^ Spiegel Online (2002). Wie eine Brücke zur Attraktion für Selbstmörder wurde (How a bridge becomes an attraction for suicide). Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  32. ^ zero one film (2011). 2002: Teuflische Spiele Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
  33. ^ Kleine Anfrage des Abg. Michael Theurer FDP/DVP und Antwort des Innenministeriums Vollvergitterung der Neckartalbrücke Weitingen (Autobahnbrücke Eyach) (PDF) (in German). 2007.
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  41. ^ "Skyddande räcke ska stoppa hopp från Västerbron". 5 July 2012.
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  43. ^ "Help signs plan at suicide cliffs". 10 June 2003.
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  48. ^ Hudson, Mike (27 May 2008). "Suicide season". Niagara Falls Reporter. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  49. ^ "Middletown mayor looks to curb suicides on Arrigoni Bridge". New Haven Register. 18 August 2015.
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  51. ^ Hagstrom, Suzy (12 October 2000). "Through the Air into Darkness". San Diego Reader.
  52. ^ "Foresthill Bridge scene of suicide plunge". 20 October 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  53. ^ "Foresthill Bridge". 3 December 2007. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
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  58. ^ Messing, Philip (14 January 2013). "Sad GWB suicide record". New York Post. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  59. ^ O'Connor, Timothy (14 October 2012). "High anxiety: Trooper fights fear to save would-be Tappan Zee jumpers". Newsday. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  60. ^ Wong, Ashley; Gold, Michael (29 July 2021). "Fourth Suicide at the Vessel Leads to Calls for Higher Barriers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  61. ^ "Manhattan's Vessel reopens with focus on suicide prevention". ABC7 New York. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  62. ^ Kirsch, Noah (29 July 2021). "Billionaire Developer Mulls Closing NYC Tourist Hot Spot After 14-Year-Old Leaps to His Death". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  63. ^ Stabler, David (2 February 2013). "Vista Bridge: Is it time to stop the dying at Portland's iconic bridge?". The Oregonian. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  64. ^ Stabler, David (9 July 2013). "Temporary suicide barriers to go up on Vista Bridge". The Oregonian. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
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  66. ^ Janiskee, Bob (16 September 2008). "At New River Gorge National River, an Iconic Bridge Attracts Suicide Jumpers". National Parks Traveler. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  67. ^ Tyson, Daniel (25 August 2015). "Man dies after jumping from New River Gorge Bridge". Fayette Tribune. Register-Herald.com, The Register-Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  68. ^ Falconer, Delia (2016). "Echo Point". The Dictionary of Sydney. Archived from the original on 3 March 2024. Yet Echo Point's ambiguity and resistance to neatly scripted experience persist, most poignantly in its history as a popular suicide destination, and in the uncertainty that shrouds its Indigenous past.
  69. ^ Beautrais, Annette L.; Sheree J. Gibb; David M. Fergusson; L. John Horwood; Gregory Luke Larkin (June 2009). "Removing bridge barriers stimulates suicides: an unfortunate natural experiment" (PDF). Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 43 (6): 495–497. doi:10.1080/00048670902873714. PMID 19440879. S2CID 205398694. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 May 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
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  73. ^ Moore, Tony (6 February 2013). "Safety barriers for Story Bridge". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017.
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  75. ^ Mark Dunn; Anthony Dowsley (14 June 2008). "Anti-suicide barrier urged for West Gate Bridge". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  76. ^ Magesky, Lais (21 January 2019). "Capixabas escolhem projeto de barreira rebaixada para Terceira Ponte". Gazeta Online (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  77. ^ Hermosilla, Ignacio (8 April 2023). ""El mall de los suicidios": Fenómeno del Costanera Center y sus polémicas rejas llegan a medio español" (in Spanish). Radio Bio-Bio.
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  79. ^ Amorocho, Carlos (12 April 2012). "El viaducto de los suicidas" (in Spanish). Vanguardia Liberal.
  80. ^ Panamericana Televisión (24 July 2011). "Zona de Miedo: Los Fantasmas de Barranco y el Puente Villena". YouTube. Archived from the original on 3 January 2020.
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