The intervention of a pair of good Samaritans stopped a distraught 22-year-old Lithuanian national from jumping off a three-story bridge to her death at Phuket Airport yesterday afternoon.
At about 2:30pm, security officials at the airport were notified about the potential suicide attempt on a bridge outside the international departure terminal.
Officials arrived to the scene to find that airport shuttle driver Apichat Intaraksa and tour guide Amornrat Unkai — a pair that’s been dubbed “the good Samaritans” by local media — had already safely gotten her off the ledge, reported Sanook.
The duo told police they spotted the woman standing on the edge of a bridge, seemingly debating to jump, while driving home from the airport — so they went up to her to talk.
However, in the middle of a conversation, Apichat said the woman suddenly turned around as if to jump. Panicked, he stepped in and grabbed her from behind, pulling her back from the edge of the bridge to safety. She was subsequently sent to the airport infirmary.
The Lithuanian national later told police that she was on vacation in Phuket with her boyfriend of over 10 years.
The couple reportedly got into a big fight and had broken up before the incident, leading her to take a flight home alone yesterday. However, she arrived at the airport only to find out she was late and had missed her plane.
Unable to change her flight and without enough money to buy a new ticket, she said the stress drove her to the decision to climb onto the bridge.
In the woman’s purse, authorities found medicine to treat depression. They decided to send her to Thalang Hospital while contacting the Lithuanian consulate about finding a way to send her home, reported Khaosod.
Unfortunately reports of suicides in airports are not uncommon in Thailand. Just last October, a German man jumped to his death from the fourth floor of the passenger terminal at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after refusing the board a flight four days earlier.
Though the airport invested THB33 million (about US$1 million) in 2013 to install a 2.5-meter-high glass barrier to discourage people from taking their lives, multiple travellers have since still managed to get around the wall and jump.
In all, eight people have died after jumping from the airport’s balcony since Suvarnabhumi first opened in 2006.
If you are considering harming yourself, please reach out for help. Assistance is available around the clock from the Mental Health Department’s 1323 hotline (for Thai speakers) or the Samaritans of Thailand at 02-713-6793 (for Thai speakers), and 02-713-6791 (for English speakers).
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