A 21-year-old man died on New Year’s Day after jumping off a bridge in Calape in an apparent suicide case.
According to SPO3 Alexander Saavedra of the Calape Police Station, emergency responders still tried to rescue the fatality, Dave Cejas of Barangay Sta. Cruz, but had difficulty in locating him due to the darkness of the area.
Police were alerted by residents of Barangay Desamparados after Cejas jumped off the Desamparados Bridge at 9 p.m. while his body was found at 12 midnight beside a concrete residential fence near the bridge, said Saavedra.
Residents told police that they heard a splash from the water and Cejas’s voice as he called for help.
Saavedra said that Cejas likely drowned as he had no apparent severe injury in his body except for a cut on his lip which may have been grazed by a rock after he leapt.
Based on the statement of the victim’s family, Cejas was suffering from depression and was taking medication for his condition.
Cejas reportedly was not able to take his medication prior to the incident, Saavedra said. (A. Doydora)