List of suicide sites

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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 commit suicide, usually by jumping. Some of the sites listed have installed suicide barriers, 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.

Most popular locations

• Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, Nanjing, China — more than 2,000 suicides from 1968 to 2006^[1]
• Golden Gate Bridge, California, United States — more than 1,500 suicides^[2][3]
• Prince Edward Viaduct, Toronto, Ontario — 492 suicides committed before the Luminous Veil, a barrier of 9,000 steel rods, was constructed. Nicknamed "a magnet of suicide".
• Aokigahara forest, Mount Fuji, Japan — up to 105 suicides a year;^[4] one source cites as the second most popular spot^[5]

Locations by continent

Africa

• Van Stadens Bridge, Eastern Cape, South Africa — 88 suicides since construction in 1971.^[6]
• Ponte apartment building, Johannesburg^[7]

Asia

• Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge - over 2,000 suicides since 1968, ~50/year.
• Mount Mihara, Japan — an active volcano on the island of Izu Ōshima. After Kiyoko Matsumoto jumped into the crater in 1933, media reports fanned hundreds of copycats until 1936, when access was restricted.^[8]
• Shin-Koiwa Station, Japan
• Tojinbo, Japan
• Aokigahara forest, Mount Fuji, Japan — up to 108 suicides a year;^[9] one source cites as the second most popular spot^[5]
• Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, Wuhan, China — 24.7 suicides per year^[10]
• Pigeons' Rock, Beirut, Lebanon
• Bedok Reservoir, Singapore
• Bela Vista Villa, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong
• Kolkata Metro, Kolkata, India — 300 attempts, almost 150 fatal since 1984, 70% in Rabindra Sarobar station.
• Tehran Metro, Tehran, Iran According to authorities, each month at least 1 successful suicide occurs in Tehran Subway.^[11]
• Milad Tower, Tehran, Iran Until 2012, 3 persons successfully committed suicide by jumping from Milad Tower.^[12]
• Mapo Bridge, Seoul, South Korea
• Penang Bridge, Penang, Malaysia

Europe

• Forth Road Bridge, Scotland, United Kingdom — estimated over 20 suicides a year - more than 800 since the bridge opened in 1964
• Erskine Bridge, Erskine, Scotland, United Kingdom — estimated 15 suicides a year
• Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul — more than 100 suicide attempts annually
• London Underground, London, United Kingdom — 100–150 suicides annually
• Beachy Head, England, United Kingdom — 20 suicides a year^[13]
• Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, England, United Kingdom — more than 500 suicides since opening in 1864. Suicide barriers were installed in 1998, which halved the suicide rate over the years following.^[14]
• Segovia Viaduct, 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.^[15]
• Humber Bridge, Kingston-upon-Hull, England, United Kingdom — more than 200 incidents of people jumping or falling from the bridge took place in the first 26 years after it opened in 1981, with only five surviving.^[16]
• 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.^[17]
• Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland — four prevented suicides in 2008^[18]
• Foyle Bridge, Derry, Northern Ireland — more than 90 suicides since 1984^[19]
• Türisalu cliff, Estonia^[20]
• Asparuhov Bridge, Varna, Bulgaria
• Boninovo cliff, Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Bridge in Tuira, Finland
• Göltzsch Viaduct, Reichenbach im Vogtland, Germany — exemplary attraction for attempting suicide in Germany,^[21] under continued supervision by the Federal Police,^[22] scene of a 2001 suicide pact that led to the 2002 documentary Teuflische Spiele (Diabolical Games).^[23]
• Prekestolen, a mountain cliff in Rogaland, Norway. The remoteness and two hours mountain hike in order to get there prevents high suicide numbers, but a few people make the effort every year.
• Archway Bridge, Highgate, London, United Kingdom — This has seen many deaths by jumping in the past 14 years.
• 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal^[24]
• Nusle Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic - At least 365 deaths.^[25]

North America

Suicide hotline on the George Washington Memorial Bridge, Seattle, Washington

• Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California — official count halted at 997 to prevent "record breakers"
• Coronado Bridge, San Diego, California — more than 200 suicides (1972–2000)^[26]
• George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York City — It has been averaging around 10 suicides per year and a record 18 in 2012.^[27][28]
• George Washington Memorial Bridge ("Aurora Bridge"), Seattle, Washington — more than 230 suicides since 1932,^[29] with more than 50 from 1997–2007^[30]
• Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida — At least 130 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the new bridge in 1987 and an estimated 10 others have tried, but survived. In response, the State of Florida installed six crisis hotline phones along the center span in 1999, and began 24-hour patrols. As of 2003, the call center had received 18 calls from potential jumpers, all of whom survived.^[31] However, the total number of jumpers has not significantly declined since the introduction of these safeguards. The song, "Skyway Avenue," by We The Kings is about two lovers who decide to jump to their deaths together from this bridge.^[32]
• Prince Edward Viaduct, Toronto, Ontario — A suicide barrier was installed.
• Jacques Cartier Bridge, Montreal, Quebec — more than 143 suicides. Suicide barriers were erected in 2003.^[33]
• Cornell University gorge bridges — a location for suicides in the 1970s, 1990s, and in the 2009–2010 school year. The university responded by posting security guards at the bridges. Later, safety nets were added below each bridge.
• Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, California — estimated 65 suicides since construction in 1973, actual number likely higher^[34][35]
• New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, West Virginia^[36][37]
• Niagara Falls — between 1856 and 1995 there were 2,780 known suicides; and there are 20 to 25 per year.^[38]
• Vista Bridge, Portland, Oregon — averages four suicides a year^[39]
• Tappan Zee Bridge, Tarrytown, New York — more than 30 suicides between 2002 and 2012; sometimes referred to as "the Golden Gate Bridge of the East"^[40]
• Toronto Transit Commission subway and rapid transit network — 150 people have killed themselves, and there have been an additional 100 attempts between 1998 and 2007.^[41][42][43]
• Arrigoni Bridge, Middletown, Connecticut^[44][45]
• Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge, Southern Maryland - At least 14 people have successfully committed suicide, while more have survived the jump. Suicide hotline signs have been placed at the peak of the bridge (140 feet above the water).

Oceania

• The Gap, Sydney — estimated to have roughly 50 suicides a year^[46]
• West Gate Bridge, Melbourne — Has "up to one" suicide every three weeks^[47]
• Grafton Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand — suicide barriers were removed in 1996 after being in place for sixty years but replaced in 2003.^[48]
• Lawyer's Head, Dunedin, New Zealand — "has the unenviable reputation of having the highest number of deaths by suicide in one location in New Zealand"

South America

• Viaducto García Cadena, Bucaramanga, Colombia^[49]
• Eduardo Villena Rey Bridge in 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.^[50]
• São Paulo Metro, São Paulo, Brazil.

See also

• Lover's Leap
• Suicide bridge
• Suicide tourism

References