Attempt to rescue jumper turns tragic

A last-ditch attempt to rescue a man from jumping from a 15-foot firewall turned tragic when the bedsheet used by the rescue team failed to break his fall, causing the jumper to hit the pavement in Tondo, Manila yesterday.

The jumper, identified as Sandy Sunga, 29, of Quiricada street, Tondo, was rushed to the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center due to massive head injuries.

Doctors gave him a slim chance to survive.

Police said Sunga, who is mentally unstable, scaled a 15-foot firewall at the corner of Quiricada street and Jose Abad Santos Avenue in Tondo at past 10 a.m.

Police and fire personnel rushed to the scene as officials tried to convince Sunga to climb down.

When the negotiations failed after more than three hours, a rescue team from the Emergency Medical Service was called into action.

As it became evident that the man was bent on jumping, an attempt to break his fall was planned.

However, the EMS crew was not equipped with safety nets, prompting their deputy chief for operations to call headquarters for assistance.

Four EMS rescuers had to make do with a bedsheet in an attempt to catch the jumper.

After several minutes, Sunga jumped head first into the bedsheet being held by four men.

The device proved inadequate as the jumper’s head still hit the pavement.

The EMS emergency vehicle rushed the unconscious man to the nearest hospital.

An EMS officer, who requested anonymity, admitted that the botched rescue attempt only magnified the lack of proper devices of most of the country’s rescue teams. – Nestor Etolle