Two quick-thinking bystanders were caught on camera rescuing a man who almost jumped off the PVNR Expressway in Hyderabad, which leads to the city’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA).
The video of the dramatic incident shows a man, who appeared to be in his 20s, sitting dangerously on the ledge of the flyover, looking down at the road below, ready to fall at any moment.
Two men park their bike on the opposite side of the road and rush towards him. In a split second, they pull him back off the ledge and lift him off his feet. They then proceed to guide him towards their two-wheeler with a firm grip.
The duo then make him sit between the two of them on the vehicle and ride away. In a video that surfaced later, the would-be jumper claims that he was going to make the leap because he had read in the news that whoever "completed the feat would get a Scorpio car as a gift."
Suggesting that it was a challenge announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he added, "I read it in the news and I decided to jump from there."
He also said that he was a BCom graduate and was married with a son. However, his claims could not be cross-verified and the police said that the man seemed to be mentally unsound.
Watch the video below.
Quick thinking by bystanders saves a life. Two people managed to rescue a man who was planning to jump off the PVNR Expressway, the flyover leading to the #Hyderabad airport pic.twitter.com/cYSWHPmUZv
— Nitin Bhaskaran (@NitinBGoode) July 18, 2019
'It was tense'
Speaking to TNM, the people who managed to rescue the man said that they spent several tense minutes as they watched him wandering around on the flyover.
Indrasena, the owner of Celebrity Fitness Studio in Attapur, tells TNM that the incident took place on Wednesday at around 6:30 pm in the evening near pillar number 125.
"Our gym is located on the third floor and we have a clear view of the PVNR Expressway. I was in my office when I noticed some commotion near the window. When I went to check, I saw the man almost ready to jump off the bridge," Indrasena says.
He says that he immediately sent two trainers on a bike to try and rescue him.
"Even as we were waiting for them to reach, it was very tense. He was walking on the flyover and he just missed getting hit by cars which were travelling on the expressway at a very high speed. For 20 to 25 minutes, I was so tense. I thought he would jump in front of my eyes," Indrasena says.
"Since all the cars passing by were not stopping, I thought we should at least give it a try. If he jumped within that time, there was nothing we could have done," he adds.
One of the trainers, Madhu, seen in the video pulling the man back also spoke to TNM.
"I was scared he would jump till the moment we reached. Fortunately for me, he was looking down from the bridge and did not see me approaching him. I took advantage of that and decided to just pull him back," he said.
However, two-wheelers are not allowed on the PVNR expressway.
"Even before we climbed the flyover, a policeman stopped us. Thankfully, we had already taken a video from the window of the gym, which we showed to the policeman. There was some resistance because two wheelers are not allowed on the bridge, but then he let us through," Madhu says.
"When we first pulled him back and asked him questions, he did not say a word. So we made him climb on to the bike, gave him some water and brought him to the gym," he added.
Indrasena said that after the man was brought to the gym, he said that he was hungry.
"We fed him and sent him away, but he came back. So again we sat down and tried to talk to him. That's when we took the second video. At around 9 pm, we dropped him at the Rajendranagar police station," he added.
The Rajendranagar police have shifted the man to a centre in Budvel.
Those in need of counselling can contact Roshni, a suicide helpline operational every day from 11 am to 9 pm. Roshni can be reached at 040 66202000/2001.