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Hours of threats then man plunged from bridge
Peter Dominiczak12 Nov 2009
This is the moment when a man plunged into the Thames from Westminster Bridge, sparking a dramatic rescue.
The 45-year-old fell into the river at about 4pm yesterday after a tense stand-off with emergency services lasting several hours.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: "We were called at 11.21am to reports of a man standing on Westminster Bridge. Local officers were involved in liaison with the man. At approximately 4pm the man fell into the river."
The man had been threatening to jump for four and a half hours before the plunge.
Specialist negotiators had been called by the Yard to persuade him to come down from a parapet.
Onlookers were horrified as they watched the man fall into the river near the Houses of Parliament.
He was pulled from the water by an RNLI lifeboat team and taken ashore by London Fire Brigade's marine unit.
A spokeswoman for London Ambulance Service said the man was being treated for minor injuries at St Thomas' Hospital.
A police spokesman said he was in a stable condition.
Meanwhile, four rowers had to be rescued from the Thames after a boat collided with their vessel. The rowers were knocked out of their skiff after being hit by a launch shortly after 7pm at Point Pleasant, near Wandsworth Pier. An RNLI lifeboat rescued them and took them to a nearby rowing club.
Police said an ambulance was called as a precaution but no one needed further medical treatment. No arrests have been made.
Reader views (19)
Maybe he just wanted to make a point in public, I hope he gets treatment soon.
- Ayesha, London, Hounslow, London, 13/11/2009 12:18
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I suffer with mental illness so I'm sympathetic to him but I don't think we've got the police resources for this sort of thing I'm afraid.
- Susie Blake, London, 12/11/2009 22:57
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i saw this; was abit weird; hope he is okay. was abit sad but there was alot of people there as he did it in a public spot so was abit silly
- Leahrose, Dorset, 12/11/2009 22:15
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Well if you all must know, he is a friend of mine, he lost his whole family never to see them again, how would you feel?
- Trish Bod, australia, 12/11/2009 20:19
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"what a waste of tax payers money......
- Jonny, London"
just to remind you that the lifeboat crew are not paid for by the taxpayer, they are entirely paid for by voluntary donations.
- Brian, London, 12/11/2009 17:46
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If he ingested any Thames river water he will probably get his wish, it contains Leptospirosis (Wiels disease) and hepetitis. I wouldn't swim in it if you paid me a million.
- Jimbob, Kensington, 12/11/2009 15:24
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Yes, Jake. Maybe he just wanted someone to pay him a bit of attention and get him some help. His mind was probably not his own. People who are in the middle of a mental health crisis aren't very good at waiting their turn at the GP surgery and filling in the necessary forms nicely and neatly. If you and all the other heartless posters had a relative in the same position perhaps you wouldn't be so dismissive.
- Lindsay, london, 12/11/2009 15:09
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In complete agreement with David, you uncompassionate bunch. Here's hoping that you never have anyone in your family who suffers like this man. Then, you'd want all the King's horses to turn up and help.
If he's the sort of chap who stands on a bridge for four hours and then flings himself off it, that tells me he's in no state by himself to find a doctor and sit down and talk about it. He needs to be sectioned and looked after, not regarded as an inconvenience.
- Kate, London, England, 12/11/2009 14:52
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Smithfields and Goggs,
You both underestimate the danger the Thames poses. People have gone into the Thames from from much lower heights and their bodies have not resurfaced for a couple of weeks. The Thames is a tidal river and even if there's a boat conveniently placed that's no guarantee of a rescue being effected.
- Mark, South-East London, 12/11/2009 14:31
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David, London - he's hardly going to kill himself by jumping off Westminster Bridge in broad daylight. If he is mentally ill, wouldn't it have been easier just to go to the doctor with his problem(s).
- Goggs, London, 12/11/2009 13:07
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We will probably find out that he failed his X factor audition, and after that life was just not worth living.
No doubt by now he is surrounded by singing coaches and dancing coaches oops I mean social services telling him there is always next year.
- Steve M, London, 12/11/2009 12:30
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Smithfields, Mowdiwarp, Jonny, London. What an uncompassionate lot you are. The guy is obviously suffering from mental illness, its seems you have little knowledge of this with your sarcastic cheap comments.
- David, London, 12/11/2009 12:25
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Hope they charge him for wasting Police time - and bill him for the Police time AND the cost of his rescue. Idiot.
- Trevor, London, 12/11/2009 12:21
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if he was seriously contemplating killing himself by jumping into the thames he would of jumped late at night when there was no-one around, what a waste of tax payers money......
- Jonny, London, 12/11/2009 11:47
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How selfish. And how indulging. And undecided. 4 hours. Hope the bridge wasn't blocked for traffic during that time. Can't be doing with that sort of behaviour in a central spot like that.
- Westminster Cyclist, London, UK, 12/11/2009 11:42
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Had his five minutes of fame then rescued - should have left him to swim ashore.
- Mowdiwarp, Huddersfield, West Yorks, 12/11/2009 11:03
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The article says.....he was in a stable condition....something tells me he must be unstable somewhere....somewhere between the two ears !
- Bemused...., Toulouse, France., 12/11/2009 10:31
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let him jump,if he wanted to kill himself he should have done it quietly at home,just a waste time for emergency services
- Jakethesnake, London , Haringey, 12/11/2009 10:08
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they should have just let him jump, then fish him out once he landed into the water. Not like he was jumping 300ft into a huge current of water!!
- Smithfields, Kent, 12/11/2009 10:08
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