Every year, for each individual person that is killed by homicide, at least two people die by taking their own lives. That comes out to 34,000 deaths a year caused by suicide. With those kind of numbers, it's no wonder that there are a handful of locations around the world that have become known as suicide magnets. The popular spots are most often bridges and other high-up places, like cliffs and skyscrapers, that draw troubled individuals looking for a place to jump from with a very long fall.
Sadly, no one is immune to suicide. Celebrities, athletes, geniuses, and people of all races, religions, and ethnicities can develop depression, which can lead to suicide. It's a worldwide pandemic that has resulted in suicide hot spots popping up everywhere - from Japan to Scotland, and everywhere in between. More often than not, these suicide magnets are bridges. There are several suicide bridges around the globe that offer jumpers a platform from which to put their lives behind them.
Luckily, a lot has been done to lower the number of suicides at several of these locations. Signs offering help have popped up, and barriers meant to make it more difficult to jump have been erected at several bridges and cliffs that are known suicide magnets. Perhaps the most surprising part of this list of suicide sites is just how beautiful most of the locations are. They are some of the most majestic places on earth, but their beauty is marred by the many deaths they see each year.
Check out this list of suicide hot spots below, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comment section. If you or someone you love is suicidal, please seek help by calling the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1(800) 273-8255. (This number works in the United States - for more information about the Suicide Hotline in your country or province, please Google it.)
http://www.ranker.com/list/popular-suicide-sites/jordan-love,
Beachy Head
These gorgeous English cliffs are home to twenty or more suicides a year. The cliff sides are riddled with crosses and other tokens of loss for those who have jumped to their death. Luckily though, people are actively trying to lower that number with patrols, signs, and more.
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is the most popular suicide destination in the world. Over 1,700 people have committed suicide by jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. Although many people do jump off the bridge, even more people every year are talked out of it. As many as 160 or more people each year are talked down from the bridge by local authorities and volunteers.
London Underground
Jumping in front of a train is a surprisingly ineffective way to commit suicide. Although hundreds of people have successfully committed suicide in the London Underground, only about 40% of those who try are successful. Those who aren't successful are typically severely injured and to add insult to the equation, they are usually given several citations for their actions.
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge
The Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is an incredible four miles long, which leaves plenty of places for people to jump from. At over 2,000 suicides in it's history, the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge is one of the world's biggest suicide destinations. Nearly 200 people have been talked down from their suicide attempts by the bridge's watchmen, however. A man named Mr. Chen spends nearly every day surveying the bridge and trying to keep lost individuals from jumping to their deaths.
Sunshine Skyway Bridge
With a recent average of nine suicides each year, and a total of over 200 suicides since 1987, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge is a very popular location for those looking to end their life in Florida. An estimated 34 people have actually survived their suicide attempts, despite the 175 foot fall from the base of the bridge to the water below.
Coronado Bridge
The long wind of the Coronado Bridge in San Diego has been a suicide hot spot ever since it opened. Hundreds of individuals have plummeted to their deaths over the years at the location, and the 200 ft. fall means that there have been very few survivors.
Aokigahara Forest
The Aokigahara Forest is one of the most well-known suicide spots in the world. The forest is so popular for people to commit suicide in, that authorities and volunteers conduct yearly searches to recover the bodies. Aokigahara Forest is thought by many to be haunted by the spirits of the dead. A film based on the location and its notoriety was released in 2016.
Van Stadens Bridge
The Van Stadens Bridge in South Africa is a staggering feat, standing more than 450 feet in the air. It has become a suicide magnet for citizens of South Africa with the first suicide on the bridge coming only days after its completion. A jump from the bridge's colossal height means nearly certain death for those who leap from its edge. In the past forty years, close to a hundred people have perished.
The Hong Kong Underground
The Hong Kong underground railway system was notorious for its suicides. Individuals would frequently leap in the way of an oncoming train, hoping to end their lives. Luckily, the Hong Kong underground is a prime example of a suicide hot spot that largely fixed its own problem. By installing new safety mechanisms, they have dramatically reduced both suicides and attempts.
Lawyers Head Cliff
This elegant New Zealand Cliff is a suicide magnet for citizens of the small country. It doesn't have as many suicides as other famous places around the world, but it is one of the most deadly places in New Zealand. So much so in fact, that in 2006, the road to Lawyers Head was closed down so that they could make security improvements to prevent future suicides at the location.