No more suicidal bridges over Han River, says Seoul

Seoul City has decided to keep a watching eye on major bridges over the Han River for potential suicide attempts.

The Seoul Metropolitan Fire & Disaster Headquarters Department will introduce by next year a new safety system on the bridges, said officials yesterday.

The 13 billion won ($10.8 million) project involves detailed guidelines on the prevention, urgent responses and post-factum measures following a suicide attempt.

The preventive measures include 96 CCTVs and 16 emergency telephones which are to be installed on the eight most frequently used bridges.



Also, the railings on some of the bridges with the highest suicide rates will be raised to 2 meters to discourage potential attempts to jump over, according to officials.

A total of 1,033 cases of suicide attempts were reported to have occurred on Han River bridges from 2007 up to July this year, showing a yearly increase of 4.4 percent, according to the Seoul City data.

In order to speed up all emergent responses to actual suicide attempts, the city also set up a hotline between the guard posts of major bridges and the Seoul Emergency Operation Center 24 hours a day. All emergent reports on suicide attempts will be consequently passed on to the district fire department, police station and the suicide prevention centers, said officials.

The city will also continuously keep an eye on those who have survived their suicide attempts.

The district and local suicide prevention centers will co-work in running a long-term counseling program for such survivors, said officials.

"The reinforcement of the safety system on the Han River bridges is crucial in achieving the Han River Renaissance," said an official of the fire and disaster department.

The Han River Renaissance project refers to a governmental plan which started back in 2006 to recreate and improve the space around the river.

(tellme@heraldm.com)



By Bae Hyun-jung