List of suicide sites
The following is a list of current and historic sites frequently chosen to attempt suicide, usually by jumping. Some of the sites listed have installed suicide barriers, signs advising potential suicides to take other actions, and other precautions, such as crisis hotline phones.
Exact numbers of victims are sometimes difficult to determine, as many jurisdictions and media agencies have ceased collecting statistics and reporting suicides at common sites, in the belief that the reporting may encourage others.
Most popular locations
- Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, Nanjing, China – more than 2,000 suicides from 1968 to 2006
- Golden Gate Bridge, California, United States – more than 1,600 known suicides; the number is believed to be higher because of people whose bodies were never found.
- Prince Edward Viaduct, Toronto, Ontario, Canada – 492 suicides before the Luminous Veil, a barrier of 9,000 steel rods, was constructed in 2003.
- Aokigahara forest, Mount Fuji, Japan – up to 105 suicides a year
Locations by continent
Africa
- Ponte apartment building, Johannesburg
- Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos, Nigeria
- Van Stadens Bridge, Eastern Cape, South Africa – 88 suicides since construction in 1971.
- Cairo Tower, Cairo, Egypt
Asia
- Aokigahara forest, Mount Fuji, Japan – up to 105 suicides a year
- Delhi Metro - at least 83 suicides
- Han River, South Korea
- Hussain Sagar, India - 146 deaths and 510 attempts between 2013 and 2016
- Milad Tower, Tehran, Iran – Until 2012, 3 persons committed suicide by jumping from Milad Tower.
- Mount Mihara, Japan – an active volcano on the island of Izu Ōshima. After a suicide in 1933, media reports led to hundreds of copycats until 1936, when access was restricted.
- Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge, China – over 2,000 suicides since 1968, ~50/year.
- Shin-Koiwa Station, Japan
- Tehran Metro, Tehran, Iran According to authorities, each month at least 1 suicide occurs in Tehran Subway.
- Tojinbo, Japan
- Wuhan Yangtze River Bridge, Wuhan, China – 24.7 suicides per year
Europe
- 25 de Abril Bridge, Lisbon, Portugal
- Älvsborg Bridge, Gothenburg, Sweden
- :da:Ringgadebroen|Ringgadebroen, Aarhus, Denmark
- Archway Bridge, Highgate, London, United Kingdom.
- Beachy Head, Sussex, England, United Kingdom – 20 suicides a year
- Bosphorus Bridge, Istanbul
- Cliffs of Moher, County Clare, Ireland – four prevented suicides in 2008
- Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol, England, United Kingdom – more than 500 suicides since opening in 1864. Suicide barriers were installed in 1998, which halved the suicide rate over the years following.
- Erskine Bridge, Erskine, Scotland, United Kingdom.
- Forth Road Bridge, Scotland, United Kingdom – estimated over 20 suicides a year – more than 800 since the bridge opened in 1964*
- Foyle Bridge, Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom – more than 90 suicides since 1984
- Göltzsch Viaduct, Reichenbach im Vogtland, Germany – exemplary attraction for attempting suicide in Germany, under continued supervision by the Federal Police, scene of a 2001 suicide pact that led to the 2002 documentary Teuflische Spiele.
- Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg – more than 100 suicides since opening in 1966. Since 1993, a Plexiglas barrier has prevented people from jumping off the bridge and falling on top of the houses below.
- Humber Bridge, Kingston-upon-Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom – more than 200 incidents of people jumping or falling from the bridge took place in the first 26 years after it opened in 1981, with only five surviving.
- London Underground, London, United Kingdom – ~50 attempts annually
- Nusle Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic – At least 365 deaths.
- Paris Métro, Paris metropolitan area, France – 20 to 40 deaths per year.
- Segovia Viaduct, Madrid, Spain – colloquially called the suicide bridge, starting from the 17th century until the 1990s, when it saw fatal falls at an average of one a week. A barrier was erected in 1998.
- Türisalu cliff, Estonia
North America
- Arrigoni Bridge, Middletown, Connecticut
- Colorado Street Bridge in Pasadena, California has been the host of numerous falls/jumps starting as early as its construction, when a worker who had been drinking fell off the bridge into wet cement. It has hosted many suicides since, and a large barrier/fence has been installed to keep people from jumping.
- Coronado Bridge, San Diego, California – more than 200 suicides
- Foresthill Bridge in Auburn, California – estimated 65 suicides since construction in 1973, actual number likely higher
- George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York City – It has been averaging around 10 suicides per year and a record 18 in 2012. Tyler Clementi also jumped from the bridge in 2010 after being cyberbullied.
- George Washington Memorial Bridge, Seattle, Washington – more than 230 suicides since 1932, with more than 50 from 1997–2007
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California – official count halted at 997 to prevent "record breakers"
- Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge, Southern Maryland
- Jacques Cartier Bridge, Montreal, Quebec – more than 143 suicides. Suicide barriers were erected in 2004.
- Natchez Trace Parkway Bridge in Franklin, Tennessee is a suicide bridge that is the site of at least 30 completed suicides since 1993, as of January 2018.
- New River Gorge Bridge in Fayetteville, West Virginia
- Niagara Falls – between 1856 and 1995 there were 2,780 known suicides; and there are 20 to 25 per year.
- Prince Edward Viaduct, Toronto, Ontario – A suicide barrier was installed in 2003.
- Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Tampa Bay, Florida – At least 130 people have committed suicide by jumping from the center span into the waters of Tampa Bay since the opening of the new bridge in 1987 and an estimated 10 others have tried, but survived. In response, the State of Florida installed six crisis hotline phones along the center span in 1999, and began 24-hour patrols. As of 2003, the call center had received 18 calls from potential jumpers, all of whom survived.. However, the total number of jumpers has not significantly declined since the introduction of these safeguards. The song, "Skyway Avenue," by We The Kings is about two lovers who decide to jump to their deaths together from this bridge.
- Tappan Zee Bridge, Tarrytown, New York – more than 30 suicides between 2002 and 2012; sometimes referred to as "the Golden Gate Bridge of the East"
- Toronto Transit Commission subway and rapid transit network – 150 people have killed themselves, and there have been an additional 100 attempts between 1998 and 2007.
Oceania
- Grafton Bridge, Auckland, New Zealand – suicide barriers were removed in 1996 after being in place for sixty years but replaced in 2003.
- Lawyer's Head, Dunedin, New Zealand.
- The Gap, Sydney – estimated to have roughly 50 suicides a year
- West Gate Bridge, Melbourne – Has "up to one" suicide every three weeks. Suicide rates on the bridge have dropped by 85% since prevention barriers were installed by the state government in 2009.
- Echo Point, Katoomba, Blue Mountains, New South Wales – A list of documented suicides has been compiled on Wikitree with links to each person.
South America
- Eduardo Villena Rey Bridge in Lima, Peru. The bridge had to be covered with large windows due to suicide rates. The street under the bridge is believed to be haunted.
- São Paulo Metro, São Paulo, Brazil. The São Paulo Metro system transports about 4.6 million people a day. The São Paulo Metro, as other subway networks in Brazil, have a policy not to publicly disclose the number of suicides taking place in any given period. It is not uncommon for fellow passengers to see people jumping off the platform as trains approach the station. Train-drivers, security staff, emergency services, and rail workers are trained not to discuss suicides taking place in the subway system. There is a common belief that by not disclosing suicide statistics to the general public, Metro networks prevent further occurrences.
- Third Bridge, Vitória, Brazil. The construction of a suicide prevention net is currently being discussed by public authorities and the concessionary of the bridge.
- Viaducto García Cadena, Bucaramanga, Colombia