A LEAP TO DEATH.

Waikato Times, Volume 111, Issue 18639, 18 May 1932, Page 3

A LEAP TO DEATH.

SUICIDE FROM BRIDGE. A SYDNEY SENSATION. (From a Correspondent.) SYDNEY, April 28. The man who earned the distinction of being the first to commit suicide bv jumping from the Sydney Harbour Bridge selected Sunday afternoon last for his rash act, and provided a thrill for hundreds of people who were walking across the great structure when he climbed over the side of the footwalk. The bridge has become by far the most popular promenade in Sydney, and had he set out to attract attention the man could not have chosen a more appropriate time —3.30 o’clock. The tragedy was vividly described by Mr J. A. Molineaux, who was within a few feet of the man when he threw himself oves. Mr Molineaux was crossing the bridge by the footway on the eastern side near the centre of the bridge when he suddenly saw a sinal] man climb astride the stout steel rail which overlooks the water of the harbour. Mr Molineaux thought he was a workman and did not take particular notice ol’ what he was doing. The man sat on top of the rail for a few seconds and then jerked himself sideways and went hurtling through the air—a fall of 190 l'eet before his body struck the water. The crowds on the bridge immediately rushed to the sides, but few of them saw the spray that went up when the man made contact with the harbour. Most of them, however, heard a report like that of a small gun. Body Recovered. It so happened that a launch was cruising beneath the bridge at the time, and the body was immediately recovered. The man was then dead and all attempts to restore animation failed. There were no outward wounds, and it is suggested in some quarters that the man was actually dead before he hit the water. One theory put forward to the police by a doctor was that lie died from heart failure almost immediately after he had made his fatal leap. So terrific was the Impact that every rib was shattered. Expert opinion is that unless a man were an experienced diver his chance of surviving a fall from the harbour bridge is only one in a thousand. It is estimated that the body must have travelled through the air at the rate of approximately 170 feet a second when it reached the water If a man met the water with a neat dive, and sank to a depth of 33 feet, the force the water would exert against the human body would be over 20Oib. If, however, the water was struck in a flat dive the water would meet the body 'with a force of more than 13,0001 b. Foil—But Recovered. The instant death of the man who jumped off the bridge on Sunday emphasises the fortune of Vincent Roy Kelly, a boilermaker, who fell from the bridge Into the harbour while he was working on the structure in October, 1930. Mr Kelly's only injuries were several fractured ribg, and after ho had recovered he returned to his Job on the bridge and remained there until H was completed. Ills escape was duo largely to, presence of mind. He said after the accident that he had. often thought what he would do if he fell, and had considered that If he fell head first he would have a chance of living to tell the story. He thought that the effect would be the same if ho could enter the water feet first. Consequently when he did slip he made desperate efforts so to twist his body that he would strike the wate" first with his feet. After his experience Kelly described his fall thus: “I tried to clutch something, but there was nothing to clutch, and I went own. I turned a somersault. I concentrated on entering the water head or feet first. I waved my arms and moved my body in an effort to do this. I clasped my right hand over my nose and mouth. Then I hit the water. Unfortunately my body was not quite upright when I hit the water, otherwise I do not think I would have suffered any injury.” On the day following the occurrence narrated above a second man leaped to his death from the Sydney bridge.