TV cable saves drunk man who jumped off building

Residents who gathered at the spot after hearing Belose’s cries arranged for a blanket even as the cable was about to snap under his weight. Spreading the blanket under him, they asked him to jump and save himself from dying, which he abided by, said the police officer

MUMBAI: A 30-year-old inebriated man survived a suicide attempt on Sunday as he got entangled in overhead wires after jumping off the terrace of a 4-storey building, allowing residents to spread a blanket beneath and catch him. The incident occurred in Sion’s Pratiksha Nagar, and the man escaped with fractures in both his legs.

Mumbai, India. Feb 13,2024 - Pratiksha Nagar residents saved the lives of a 30 year old man who attempted suicide by jumping from the fourth floor building at Pratiksha Nagar in Sion, Mumbai. Feb 13,2024. (Photo by HT Photo)

According to the Wadala truck terminus police, Siddharth Belose, 30, who works as a courier boy, had a petty argument over dancing with another man when the Maghi Ganpati procession was passing through the transit camp in Pratiksha Nagar. He jumped off the terrace of his four-storey building after this, only to latch on to an overhead television wire.

“Belose grabbed the television cable and held on to it for around ten minutes. He also started shouting for help, perhaps realising his mistake,” said a police officer attached to the Wadala truck terminus police station.

Residents who gathered at the spot after hearing Belose’s cries arranged for a blanket even as the cable was about to snap under his weight. Spreading the blanket under him, they asked him to jump and save himself from dying, which he abided by, said the police officer.

“We caught him in the blanket just above the ground, but it could not hold his entire weight and his legs hit the ground with a thud. He started crying with pain immediately and we rushed him to the nearby Sion Hospital,” said Shreemant Kadam, a resident of the area.

The police said Belose, who was drunk at the time of the incident, suffered fractures in both his legs as well as a back injury and was being treated at the Sion Hospital. “We have made a diary entry of the incident,” said the police officer.