These Famous Bridges Are Creepy Suicide Magnets—Find Out Why
Some famous bridges are creepy suicide magnets. They garnered the nickname of Suicide bridge due to the number of suicides and attempted suicides since its completion. Some of the bridges in this list have been the site of hundreds of suicides, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. Due this fact, most of the bridges are erecting a suicide barrier.
USA:
In the USA, the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco), with more than 1,600 suicides after its opening in 1937 is ranked as the most fatal standing structure in North America. The George Washington Memorial Bridge (Seattle) is the second deadliest suicide bridge in the USA, with more than 230 suicides, averaging around 10 per year and a record of 18 in 2012. The third in the list is the San Diego-Coronado Bridge (California) with more than 200 suicides between 1972 and 2000). The fourth is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (Florida) where at least 130 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening in 1987. The top 9 list is completed with the Cold Spring Canyon Arch Bridge (California) with 55 jumps; the Colorado Street Bridge (California); the Wissahickon Memorial Bridge (Pennsylvania), the Eads Bridge, (Missouri and Illinois) which has seen 18 suicides and the New River Gorge Bridge (West Virginia).
United Kingdom:
In the United Kingdom, there’s a long list of suicide bridges: the Clifton Suspension Bridge (Bristol), opened in 1864, with 500 deaths from jumping; the Hornsey Lane Bridge (London); the Humber Bridge (Hull) where more than 200 incidents have been recorded since opening in 1981 and the Itchen Bridge (Southampton) with more than 50 suicides since opening in 1977. Erskine Bridge (Scotland) ranks an estimated 15 suicides a year.
Around the world:
Around the world, the Chinese Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge opened in 1968, has the highest number of suicides: more than 2,000 from 1968 to 2006. But there are more famous suicide bridges: the Nusle Bridge, built in 1973, in Prague (Czech Republic) with more than 300 suicides. 88 suiciders since the construction in 1971 jumped from the Van Stadens Bridge, near Port Elizabeth (South Africa). In Australia, the most notorius suicide bridges are the Sydney Harbour Bridge (Sydney), the Mooney Mooney Bridge (on the Central Coast), and the Westgate Bridge (Melbourne). In Canada, the Jacques Cartier Bridge (Montreal) saw an average of 10 suicides a year until 2004, when a suicide prevention barrier was installed. The Prince Edward Viaduct (Toronto) the viaduct was ranked as the second most fatal standing structure in North America with nearly 500 suicides by 2003, when a barrier was completed. The Bosphorus Bridge (Istanbul) has more than 100 suicide attempts annually.