Lovers' leap: Photographer captures moment suicide couple jump off 40 metre high bridge

Lovers' leap: Photographer captures moment suicide couple jump off 40 metre high bridge

A photographer accidentally captures a suicide by a couple when they jumped off a bridge. He originally intended to take a picture of the heavy fog that had blanketed the bridge across the Wuhan Yangtze River in Wuhan but ended up capturing this mishap.

This picture taken on February 27, 2013 shows a youngster (R) jumping from Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan, central China's Hubei province into the river following another person who committed suicide minutes before. Police said there was little chance for them to survive and one of the two was a young male that was born in May, 1993

This is the moment a photographer captured a lovers' suicide leap.

The cameraman had been standing on a viewing platform ready to take a snap of the fog shrouded Wuhan Yangtze River in Wuhan, at Hubei province in central China, when he saw the couple leap off the bridge.

The man, who was not identified, said: "To be honest I didn't even see the first person jump because I was concentrating so much on the camera settings and I didn't realise at first that I had snapped the man jumping to his death."

It was only after taking the photo that the photographer heard someone shout "there is a person in the river!"

The photographer added: "I heard him hit the water below and then seconds later a woman climbed onto the bridge and jumped as well.

"I was totally paralysed and there was no way I could get anywhere near her.

"I still had my hand on the camera and I tensed and shot off another few frames entirely by accident, but ended up photographing the woman as well."

Police identified the man from some of the possessions he left on the bridge, which included an identity card naming him as Liu Han, a 20-year-old migrant worker from Huangpo district's Caidian town, located in Wuhan.

It was believed that the girl, who has not yet been identified, was his lover. It was not known why the pair had made a pact to throw themselves to their deaths.

Mr Han's uncle said that he knew the young man was struggling to make a living and could only assume that it was money that was the problem, as without an income it would have been difficult for him to settle down with the young woman.

Police who searched the river failed to find either of the bodies and after dark the search was called off.

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