16-year-old Indian American boy dies after jumping off Golden Gate Bridge

A 16-year-old Indian-American boy reportedly jumped off the Golden gate Bridge in San Fransisco. According to his parents and the officials of the US Coastal Guard, the boy passed away. The teen’s bicycle, phone and bag were found on the bridge.

Trigger warning: This article contains mentions of suicide which may be triggering to certain readers. Reader discretion advised.

Additionally, officials also claimed to have carried out a two-hour search and rescue operation after several people near the bridge claimed to have seen someone jumping from the bridge at around 4:58 pm.

As per the reports, the boy was studying in Class 12, and this is the fourth such incident involving an Indian-American.

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Nearly 2000 people have killed themselves by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge since its opening in 1937

Officials stated that the Indian-American boy jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge was the fourth incident involving someone of Indian origin taking their own life on the bridge. The bridge was opened in 1937 and since then more than 2,000 people have died by suicide.

Additionally, the reports also claim that 25 people died by suicide on the Golden Gate Bridge in the last year alone. However, the US government is now working on the Golden Gate Bridge to create a 20-foot wide iron mesh on both sides of the bridge, which is approximately 2.73 km.

The project, that was scheduled to be completed in January 2022, is far off its original schedule. Reports claim that part of the reason why the construction is taking time is the high construction cost, which has gone from 137.26 million euros to 386.64 million euros.

The project, which began in 2018, now has an estimated completion date of 2023. However, the officials stated that the bridge is often considered the “suicide magnet” as it sees more than 30 suicides every year, at an average.

The bridge is being constructed by Shimmick Construction Co. and Danny's Construction Co., who claimed that they were shocked to discover that the District hid significant information during the proposal phase. They added that this included concealing extensive deterioration in certain areas of the bridge.

Since the project has seen repeated delays, the Highways and Transportation department expressed their frustration by blaming the leadership changes at the construction company.

Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, the Highway and Transportation District spokesman, said that they are incredibly frustrated by Shimmick's slow-paced construction. He added that they were frustrated by the multiple delays in building the suicide barrier. He even said that the district has been transparent about the conditions of the Bridge with the company throughout the project.

Furthermore, the repeated incidents have made the authorities more concerned about the suicides and started to educate people about the suicides. The authorities responsible for the Golden Gate Bridge have released a number of various agencies and helplines that can be contacted for help to people with suicidal thoughts.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, you can contact the three-digit suicide prevention hotline at 988, which provides help across the US. You can also check out this website for more helplines across the country.