Man leaps off bridge, survives hard landing

CEBU, Philippines – A 25-year-old man is in a critical condition after jumping off Marcelo Fernan Bridge in Barangay Opao, Mandaue City yesterday afternoon.

Romeo Sala, resident of the same barangay, suffered severe injuries from the fall and was rushed by paramedics to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center.

Senior Inspector Neolie Laturnas, chief of Police Station 5 in Mandaue City, said a concerned citizen informed them about the man who was then about to leap off the bridge.

 “Naa ray nitawag namo, dayon naa kunoy moambak alas tres kapin (sa hapon) pag-abot namo niambak na sa bridge sa may bermudahan nitugpa, buhi ra hinoon,” Laturnas said. 

Laturnas said he also received information that Sala had cut his wrist first before jumping off the bridge and landed on the grassy area below. Police investigators have yet to determine what prompted Sala to jump.

“Wa mi makabalo og unsay kuan (hinungdan) mora’g naa siya’y mental disorder,” Laturnas said.

According to Laturnas, Sala was the second to have survived from the fall in the Barangay Opao side of the bridge. —/FPL (FREEMAN)