Man jumps off bridge on Dubai's Sheikh Zayed Road in suicide attempt

DUBAI // A man tried to kill himself by jumping off a bridge on Sheikh Zayed Road yesterday, but was saved by divine intervention, according to police.

"The accident could have resulted in a traffic disaster, given that the Sheikh Zayed Road is a highway used by a large volume of vehicles," Brig Gen Khalil Ibrahim Al Mansouri, the head of CID in Dubai, said.

"Divine care prevented more blood. The injured man could have been run over."

Though the man sustained severe injuries, he was airlifted to Sheikh Rashid Hospital and his life was saved. The incident caused traffic tailbacks but no injuries to motorists. Police patrols regulated traffic while the man was taken to hospital.

Investigations are ongoing, but sources from the Criminal Investigation Department at Dubai Police told The National's Arabic-language sister paper, Al Ittihad, they were treating the case as attempted suicide.

Police identified the man as an Asian working for a government organisation.