A man who threatened to jump off Maraisburg Bridge was talked off the ledge a few hours ago. This incident caused a section of the N1 highway to be closed off by Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD).
West Rand Flying Squad’s Johan de Klerk was one of the negotiators on the scene. He said the man, in his mid 20’s was allegedly going through love and financial problems.
“He was on his way home when he stopped at the bridge and wanted to jump. Members of the public saw the man who they described as frantic and immediately called the police when they realised what he was about to do,” he said.
The Flying Squad, who was in Randburg at the time, rushed to the scene along with police and JMPD members to assist.
“When we arrived on the scene the man was frantic and his mental stability was questionable. The situation was unpredictable because he was standing on the other side of the barrier and we could not reach him in fear that he would jump. This would have been chaotic as this would have caused a serious accident,” said De Klerk.
The man was taking cooldrinks and water from the negotiators which was encouraging. The negotiators then managed to talk him off the ledge and his parents arrived on the scene and took him home.
“It was a team effort from all officials at the scene and Im happy that it was resolved in the end,” said De Klerk.
