Man Jumps Off Bourj Hammoud Bridge
A man attempted to commit suicide on Tuesday by jumping from a bridge in Bourj Hammoud neighborhood in an apparent link to the country’s deepening economic downturn.
The man jumped from the bridge but was lucky to survive, said the National News Agency quoting the Civil Defense team who rescued the man.
Investigation was opened into the incident, said NNA.
Suicides increased in Lebanon apparently linked to the crumbling economy amid a wave of criticism over the government's mishandling of the crisis.
Earlier this month, a 61-year-old man from the eastern region of Hermel shot himself on the sidewalk of a bustling Beirut shopping street in broad daylight, leaving a note and his clean criminal record at the scene.
A second suicide, by a van driver near the southern city of Sidon, was also apparently linked to the economic crisis, a local official said.
The Lebanese pound, officially pegged at 1,507 pounds to the greenback, reached more than 9,000 to the dollar last week on the black market in a dizzying devaluation.
Prices have soared almost as fast as the exchange rate has plummeted, meaning that a salary of one million pounds is now worth a little more than $100, compared with almost $700 last year.
Source: Naharnet
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/273324 |