A middle-aged man committed suicide by jumping into the Indian Ocean at the Nyali Bridge in Mombasa on Sunday, January 15.
According to an eyewitness, the unidentified man appeared to be taking a selfie before jumping into the ocean dying on the spot from the gravity impact.
His body was retrieved from the ocean by the Mombasa County Fire Brigade and well-wishers.
“I saw something drop into the water like a sack of garbage, but after looking keenly I saw the body of a person, that is when we raised the alarm to other people who contacted the police and the Mombasa fire engine,“ an eyewitness said.
When the fire engine arrived after a while, they dropped a long rope down the bridge to the Indian Ocean where the body was tied and lifted up the bridge. The body had visible injuries indicating that he might have hit a rock.
“We must know how to control ourselves, we don’t know what could be the reason for him to kill himself,” Mohamed Amin, another eyewitness, added.
The incident which happened shortly after 1:00 pm caused a huge traffic snarl-up and onlookers milled around the bridge to witness the retrieval of the body. Traffic police officers had a hard time controlling the crowd and motorists.
Mombasa Urban Sub-county Police Commander Maxel Agoro said investigations have been launched to ascertain the identity of the deceased and locate his family.
The body of the deceased was taken to the Teaching and Referral Hospital (CTRH) mortuary as the search for his family members intensifies.
